
*& 



LIBRARY OLCONGRESS. 



Chap.._\2-- Copyright No.. 



Shelf 



J?3. 



UNITED STATES OF AMERSCA. 




MOSES AND OHRJST, 

OR THE 

FLAN OF THE WORLD'S SALVATION 

ILLUSTRATED BY BIBLE ALLEGORIES. 
( REVISED EDITION. ) 



ALSO 

THE GREAT REVELATION, 

OR 

GOD'S LOVE, PURPOSE, A5D PLAB. 



By JOHN H. 1PATON, 

Minister op the Gospel, Author of " Day Dawn, or the Gospel in Type 
and Prophecy," "The Perfect Day," " The Atonkment," and 
Publisher of "The World's Hope," 



"Had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me; for he wrote of me. But 
if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?"— John v. 40, 47. 

[mN 26 If 

ALMONT, MICH 

PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR 
1896. 







Copyright, 1896, by John H. Paton. 
All Eights Reserved. 



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PREFACE. 



o- -o 

THIS book first came into existence in response to the expressed wish of 
many readers of The World's Hope. In issuing a Revised Edition, I have grate- 
fully to acknowledge the interest manifested in the little work, as evidenced by its 
comparatively rapid circulation, the general tone of the comments it has called out 
even from those not accepting all its teaching, by the earnest call of many for a 
new edition, and by their willingness to help. It evidently has been, as was 
hoped, a means of spiritual blessing to many. 

The special design of the book is to show that the characters and histories of 
Moses' writings, especially of the book of Genesis, are pictures or allegories of the 
gospel plan. It is also designed, directly or indirectly, to present the general 
teaching of the Bible, and to show the fullness of God's Love underlying his Pur- 
pose and Plan in the Creation and Redemption of Mankind,— that is, in bringing 
the Race up to His own image. 

Reference is sometimes made in these pages to the book, " Day Dawn, or The 
Gospel in Type and Prophecy." This work may properly be regarded as a sequel 
to that, being a further development of " The Gospel in Type and Prophecy." 

That the blessing of "the Head of the Church," who is also " the Saviour of the 
World," may still rest upon this work ; that it may result in leading many more 
to larger views and better thoughts of our Heavenly Father and his purpose con- 
cerning the children of men ; and that it may help its readers to appreciate their 
relation to the Father and each other, is the earnest and continued prayer of the 

AUTHOR. 



0ONTENTS 

OF MOSES AND CHEIST. 

Chapter, Page, 

I. Moses Wrote of Christ 7 

II. The Plan in Allegory — Adam a 
Type of Christ — Eve the Wife and 

Mother . . . . 12 

III. The New Jerusalem 21 

IV. Cain and Abel 25 

V. Tower of Babel , 28 

VI. Enoch the Seventh from Adam — 

The Two Enochs 31 

VII. The Flood '. 34 

VIII. Raven and Dove 43 

IX. Number Three 46 

X. The Bow of Promise 64 



XI. Abraham, Isaac, and Rebekah— 
Isaac the Type of Christ — Rebekah 
the Type of the Church — The Meeting 
of Isaac and Rebekah — Rebekah the 
Wife and Mother 70 

XII. Abraham's Seven Sons 85 

XIII. Jacob and Esau 88 

XIV. Leah and Rachel 95 

XV. The History of Joseph — Joseph a 
Type of Christ — Joseph the First — 
born — Pharaoh's Dreams 101 

XVI. History of Israel 117 

XVII. History of Moses— The Burial of 

Moses 130 

XVIII. Moses a Type of Christ — Pre-exist- 
ence of Christ — The First Coming 
Rejected — Getting His Wife — Thrice 
Forty Years — Deliverance of Israel — 
The Burning Bush — Conclusion 138 

XIX. The Atonement — Shedding of Blood — 
The Body of Sin — The Great Sacri- 
fice — Atonement in Type — The Scape- 
goat — Word of Encouragement 157 



8 MOSES AND CHBIST. 

This peculiar attitude of the Jewish people is shown 
also in verses 39 and 40, where Jesus said, " Ye 
search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have 
eternal life: and they are they which testify 
op me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might 
have life." Many think Jesus was Naming them, 
but He was rather showing the weakness and incon- 
sistency of the natural man. Had they been spirit- 
ual, and so had been controlled by the love of God, 
they would have seen Christ in Moses' writings; but 
being natural, they could only see the lower or earth- 
ly phase of truth. For the same reason, they could 
see no beauty in Christ, when He came, that they 
should desire Him. — Isa. iiii. 2. 

The method by which Moses wrote of Christ was 
and is the puzzle. He said nothing directly about 
Christ— that is, in the letter of his writings. Then 
if Christ is to be found in those writings, He must be 
discerned spiritually, under cover of the natural 
things of which he wrote, just as when He had come 
into the world, He had to be accepted under cover of 
a natural body. The Jews could see Jesus as a man, 
but they could not see nor come to Him in His divine 
character, because they were natural themselves. 
They could not see the Father in Him; ["He that 
hath seen [understood] me hath seen the Father." 
and Jesus spoke a necessary truth when He said, 
" No man can come to me, except the Father which 
hath sent me draw T him." — John vi. 44. Just so, 
they could not see Christ in the writings of Moses. 
It was in both cases because of their natural inability 
to see spiritual things 

They trusted in Moses, but did not believe him. ' ' Had 
ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me." (v. 
45, 46.) Trust and faith are not necessarily the same. 
Trust may be blind, but faith, properly speaking, is 
intelligent. To believe Moses, according to this teach- 
ing, means to see and understand the spiritual mean- 



MOSES WROTE OF C HEIST. 9 

ing of his writings, — that is, to see the Gospel of 
Christ under cover of the letter of his words. In oth- 
er words, to believe Moses is to see in his writings 
pictorial representations of the whole Plan of the 
Ages, God's plan in Christ for the enlightenment and 
salvation of the world. 

Inasmuch as we are told that the worlds, (that is, 
the ages) were made by and for Christ, (Heb. i. 2,) 
and that in them He carries out God's great purpose 
in reference to mankind, it is easy to see that Moses 
could not have written of Christ in any other way so 
effectively, as by giving allegorical pictures of the 
plan. He wrote of Christ, not by mentioning His 
name, but by giving the outline and result of His 
glorious work. 

Skeptics have sometimes objected to the statement 
of Jesus, ' ' Moses wrote of me, "on the ground that he 
never once mentioned His name; but to write of His 
plan, and w T ork, and glorious success, is far more im- 
portant, and more effectual waiting of Christ, than 
the mention of His name. And there is no other way 
in which so much truth can be expressed in small 
space as by types or life pictures of the plan. 

But it is truth under cover; and some object to it 
on that ground, thinking that all truth should be 
given in plain, direct and positive statements. Well, 
they must settle the matter with the Author. If men 
will stumble over the method of giving truth, then 
they must stumble; and sometime they w^ill stumble 
on to a truth adapted to their need. It is a fact, 
whatever may be God's reason for having it so, that 
all things of great value are made difficult of attain- 
ment. To study, search, dig or work, is Heaven's 
law. The deep things have a special value, whether 
it be in the earth or in the Bible. In this respect, 
God's two books, Nature and Revelation, are much 
alike; and this may well be regarded as evidence of 



10 MOSES AND CHBIST. 

the divinity of the Bible, and of nothing more so than 
the writings of Moses. 

John said, " The law was given by Moses, but 
grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. " " The Law" 
in the comprehensive sense, includes the typical and 
allegorical features of Moses' writings, as well as 
the system of commandments. With this in mind, 
the contrast between the law and the grace and truth 
becomes more clear and forcible. The grace (or favor) 
is contrasted with the commandments, and the truth 
is contrasted with the pictures. The letter of those 
writings was only a shadoiv of the great truth con- 
cerning Christ. The ' truth, ' fully developed in 
Christ and His work of the ages, is the substance to 
which the shadow pointed. 

The Jews saw only the historical ' letter, ' and the 
system of commandments, and could not discern 
Christ in Moses' writings. They thus ' trusted' in 
Moses as a divine leader, teacher and law-giver, but 
did not ' believe ' the deeper phase of his writings. 
The ' letter ' was like a veil to hide the gospel truth. 
(See 2. Cor. iii. 13-16.) 

This tendency to see only the surface truth, and so 
to fail in seeing Christ and His plan and work, showed 
itself in the immediate disciples of Jesus, and is not 
uncommon among Christians today. Many do not 
believe that the word has a ' spirit ' under cover of 
the ' letter.' They must have surface truth or none 
at all. They are afraid to see, or hear of, " the deep 
things of God." "The natural man receiveth not 
the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolish- 
ness unto him; neither can he know them, for they 
are spiritually discerned. " — 1. Cor. ii 14. The most 
glorious things which God has prepared for them 
that love him, and for all mankind through them, are 
not seen even by the majority of Christians; "But," 
says the apostle, " God hath revealed them unto us 
by his Spirit; for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, 



MOSES WROTE OF CHRIST. 11 

the deep things of God/' — that is, the things under 
cover of the letter. 

As the truth is under cover, it needs to be uncov- 
ered or opened. This is true of both " the law and 
the prophets." Jesus, after his resurrection, having 
entered on the deeper (or higher) life, talked with 
the two disciples on the way to Emmaus. After lis- 
tening to their rehearsal of the things concerning 
the death and the reported resurrection of their Lord, 
he said, (and do not let us think of it as the language 
of sharp and cutting severity, but as the statement 
of a natural fact): "Oh fools, [unlearned] and slow 
of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken. 
Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and 
have entered into his glory?" Then, "Beginning at 
Moses [Mark that!] and all the prophets he expounded 
unto them in all the Scriptures the things concern- 
ing himself." — Luke xxiv. 25-27. 

After their eyes were opened, and he had vanished 
out of their sight, " They said one to another, Did not 
our hearts burn within us while he talked with us by 
the way, and while he opened to us the Scriptures." — 
Verse 82. Here are two facts worthy of our atten- 
tion: 1. The writings of Moses needed opening, in 
order that Christ and his work could be seen in them; 
2. That truth, when seen, made their hearts burn. 

We may readily assume, then, that when the truth 
of God's plan is seen, as revealed in Moses 'writings, 
it will make our hearts burn. The gospel in type, 
picture or allegory, it will or may be seen, contains 
nothing of the horrible features of the creed theology 
of our day; but it reveals the fullness of the love of 
God, and the success of Christ, in the exaltation of 
his elect and the final salvation of all mankind. 



MOSES AND ©HRIST. 




CHAPTER II. 

THE PLAN IN ALLEGORY. 

HE writings of Moses are allegorical. An alle- 
gory is a figurative speech or parable. These 
allegories are life-pictures of the gospel plan. 
The literal, natural facts of the lives of those 
primitive men, are used to foreshadow the spiritual 
facts in the life and work of Christ, in the execution 
of God's plan of the ages. And different features of 
the plan are illustrated in the various lives of the 
different characters — Adam, Abel, Enoch, Noah, 
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses himself. 
Some of their wives are made prominent in the alle- 
gories. Great historic events are also used as out- 
line illustrations of the work of the ages — as the crea- 
tion, the flood, the going down into Egypt, the deliv- 
erance therefrom, the wilderness journey, and the 
final inheritance in Canaan. These are all on what 
we may call the Lord's side, representing the expe- 
riences and victory of God's people 

On the other hand, the enemies of God and his 
cause are represented by the serpent, the beasts slain, 
Cain, the Babel-builders, the wicked Antediluvians, 
the Egyptians, and the Canaanites. The general 
relation of these two lines illustrates the struggle 
between good and evil, the doom of the evil, and the 
complete victory of God and his cause. 

Even a partial development of the allegories is 
very convincing that God is in these writings, and 
that they are full of the glorious gospel of Christ ; 
12 



THE PLAN m ALLEGORY. 13 

and a careful examination of them will show that it 
is not a meagre or limited plan, but one which in- 
cludes the final blessing of all mankind. 

Some object to calling any of those histories alle- 
gories unless a positive Scripture can be found say- 
ing that this or that is an allegory, or figure, or type 
of the plan; but this is an extreme skepticism. In 
Rom. v. 14, we are shown that Adam was a figure of 
Christ, who is called the second Adam. (1. Cor. xv. 
45-47.) As Adam was the head and therefore the 
representative of the whole natural race, it shows 
that natural things are used in Bible teaching as 
types, parables, or allegories of spiritual things 
This gives us the basis of a general rule. Then, in 
Gal. iv. 24, we are told that the history of Abraham 
with his two wives — and the two sons— the free and 
the bond — is an allegory, representing the relation 
of the two covenants, of law and grace, embodied in 
two Jerusalems, the earthly and the heavenly. This 
case is so comprehensive that it seems like an assur- 
ance that in one way and another the whole ground 
is covered with allegories. 

Then we have an intimation by the Apostle Paul 
that all the experiences of ancient Israel happened 
unto them for ensamples, (margin, types), and were 
written for our instruction, — 1. Cor. x. 11. This 
shows that Israel itself was a type, and that there 
fore the Church is the antitype, not uncommonly 
known as " Spiritual Israel/ ' It does not appear 
imaginary, nor far-fetched, to claim, in view of what 
is said, that all the ancient characters and histories 
were typical. It seems that wherever any feature of 
the revealed plan is to be found pre -figured in Bible 
characters or histories, we have a perfect right to 
claim that it was so intended and arranged. A strong- 
conviction of the truth of this principle, gives ground 
to speak of it with confidence. Oh! that God's own 
pictures of the plan and purpose of the gospel may 



14 MOSES AND CHEIST. 

strengthen the faith of many in the inspiration of the 
Bible, and show them the fullness of the divine love 
and saving power. 

Adam a Type of Christ. 

Let us look first at the history of the first pair 
Their creation and career make a grand picture of 
God's plan for the regeneration of mankind. The 
key of the application is given by the Apostle when 
he says that Adam ' ' was a figure [or type] of him 
that was to come." — Rom. v. 14. For the same 
reason Christ is called "the second Adam." — 1. Cor. 
xv. 45-47. It is here explained that the first is nat- 
ural, (or animal), and the second spiritual. The 
spiritual is the real, the perfect man; the first is the 
shadow cast beforehand. The first was the embodi- 
ment, the head, the unit of the whole, and therefore 
the father of the whole race on the natural or earthly 
level — the plane of the flesh. 

When God (by the agencies adapted to do this 
lower work — the Elohim, the mighty ones, the angels, 
who said, " Let us make man,") created Adam, he 
created all mankind. He contained them all as the 
kernel -of wheat, the seed, contains the whole crop 
to be developed or produced from it. They were 
latent in him; — that is, in him lay the germinal force 
to produce them all out of himself. He w T as the seed 
of an unlimited race, and all developed from him are 
Adam, — the whole race of natural men. 

Whoever can see this fact, and the principle in- 
volved, will understand why and how sin and death 
came upon all by, or in, one man, — because in him all 
sinned. — Rom. v. 12, with marginal reading. The one 
man was the root or seed of all men, and for the 
same reason, the one sin of the one man was the root 
or seed of all sin in all men. Personal sin is Adamic 
sin developed The same principle of representa- 



ADAM A TYPE OF CHEIST. 15 

tion and headship exists in Christ , the second Man. 
" As in the one, so in the other," is the rule variously 
stated by the apostle; only they work in opposite di- 
rections. Each is the head of the whole race on op- 
posite planes — the earthly and the spiritual. Each 
in turn imparts his own nature to the whole race, — 
" Every man in his own order." Neither are substi- 
tutes for men. Neither stands instead of the race, but 
each for — on account of — the race, containing them, 
all being in their head on both planes. It would be 
as reasonable and Scriptural to call Adam a substi- 
tute as Christ. It is unity, not substitution, that 
brings both sin and death in Adam, and righteous, 
ness and life in Christ. This is more honoring to 
Christ, and better for the race, than substitution. If 
he died instead of men, they should not die, and he 
should have remained dead, or under the curse; but 
he rose, and men still die. On the other hand, if Je- 
sus rose instead of men, the race should remain dead. 
But our Saviour bound the strong man, conquered 
death, obtained the keys, and leads forth, in due 
time and order, all the captives, — giving all a share 
of His own nature and life. 

Once seen that each ' Head ' is the ' ' Unit of all 
men," — that all are in each seed, — then the opposite 
results of the work of each are easily seen . Adam 
sinned, and his sin made all men sinners. So Christ 
obeyed, and His obedience, or His righteousness, made 
all men righteous. This is not left to inference, but 
is positively asserted by Paul. (See Rom. v. 16-21 
and vi. 23.) The judgment by one offence was to 
condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences 
unto justification. Mark! they are justified to life, or, 
as the apostle explains, " made righteous." Being 
no longer sinners, no reason will exist for them to 
die again. The second death is not the death of re- 
deemed men, — which would be absurd, — but the de- 



16 MOSES AND CHRIST. 

struction of death and hell— the low conditions of 
men. — Rev. xx. 14. 

What the crop is to be, is determined by and in the 
seed. As all men, when developed on the natural 
plane, in Adam, are sinners, so when all men are 
developed on the spiritual plane, in Christ, they are 
righteous. And, from God's standpoint, (He seeing 
the end and the immutable causes leading thereto), 
whatever is to be, is counted so already. So we 
read that " God was in Christ, reconciling the world 
[not merely the elect, or believers] unto Himself, not 
imputing their trespasses unto them. " — 2. Cor. v. 19. 
This does not set aside the necessity of a personal 
reconciliation to follow. Indeed, what has been done 
for men in Jesus is the basis of appeal for men to 
become personally reconciled to God. Faith in God's 
unbought and unending love works by love and leads 
to obedience. 

Adam's sin was first imputed to all, and afterward 
imparted by generation. So our Lord's righteous- 
ness, secured and imputed to all in His atoning sac- 
ritice, is afterward imparted to all by regeneration. 
The reconciliation of all in the Seed is the gospel at 
the. root, and the practical reconciliation of all indue 
time is the gospel at the top, or in the fruit. God r 
seeing the end from the beginning, or the glorious 
fruitage, tells the last things first, — that in the prom- 
ised Seed all shall be blessed, 

Those who understand our position will see how 
bald and gross the misrepresentation of those who 
say that we have laid aside the righteousness of 
Christ, and are seeking to appear before God in our 
own righteousness, and inviting others to do the 
same. We would not blame them, as they probably 
do not know how grossly we are misrepresented. 
Our worst wish for them is that they may be ena- 
bled to lay aside their prejudice, and learn the full 
value of Christ's righteousness. 



EVE -THE WIFE AND MO THE B. 17 

The work of Adam is downward to death — because 
" The wages of sin is death." Christ finds the race 
under condemnation, — either dead or dying, and the 
dying even counted dead, — and His work is upward to 
eternal life, (the only kind of life Jesus gives), for 
1 ' The gift [not the offer] of God is eternal life through 
Jesus Christ our Lord. "—Rom. vi. 23. He prevents 
the full execution of the penalty in all the elect, — ■ 
believers,— who " never perish," and in due time de- 
livers them who have perished, from the bondage of 
corruption.— -See Rom. viii. 21; Heb. ii. 15. 

The work of the first Adam is in no case final. The 
final condition is without exception the work of the 
second Adam. " Where sin abounded, grace did much 
more abound." Sin reigned unto death (not eternal), 
but grace reigns unto eternal life. — Rom. v. 20, 21. 
This is why it is written : " As in Adam [the mortal 
man] all die, even so in Christ [the immortal man] 
shall all be made alive ; every man in his own order." 
And all who bear the image of the earthly (Adam), 
shall in due time bear the image of the heavenly (the 
second Adam). — See 1. Cor. xv. 22 and 45-49. 

Eve— the Wife and Mother. 

We have considered the work of both Adams and 
the two opposite results. In the accomplishment of 
the work of each, the wife as a helpmeet is needed. 
Eve was called woman, " because she was taken out 
of man. ' '—Gen. ii. 23, She was called Eve, ' ' because 
she was the mother of all living."- — hi. 20. Adam 
and Eve are really one, as the generating power of 
the whole family of man, . created in Adam. The 
woman is the embodiment of the feminine side, the 
mother element of God's creation. God Himself 
would be imperfectly manifested without the unfold- 
ing of the woman nature and mother love. Eve was 
both Adam's wife and the mother of the race; and the 
natural, in the earthly pair, is but the shadow of the 



18 MOSES AND CHRIST. 

spiritual reality in the second Adam and His wife, — • 
the perfected Church, the New Jerusalem system. — 
Rev. xxi. 9, 10, 

As Adam was the figure of Christ, who can doubt 
that Eve was a type of ' ' the bride, the Lamb's wife?" 
Paul, after speaking of the relation of the earthly 
husband and wife, and of the two being one, adds : 
" This is a great mystery [a spiritual truth under 
cover of the natural], but I speak concerning Christ 
and the church." — Eph. v. 23-32. The mystery is 
now uncovered. The whole New Testament is built 
on the principle that Christ Jesus is a Bridegroom, 
(Matt. xxv. 1-10), that until the marriage, the church 
is a virgin espoused to Christ (2. Cor. xi 2), and, 
after the marriage, " the bride, the Lamb's wife." — - 
Rev. xxi. 9, 10. The extension of the saving plan 
after the Lord's coming and the marriage, is there- 
fore revealed by the fact that in the New Jerusalem 
age, "The Spirit and the bride [shall] say, Come." — ■ 
Rev. xxii. 17 

Even the manner of Eve's creation foreshadows the 
manner of the development of the church. Adam 
was alone for a time, was then placed in a deep sleep, 
and from his opened side his wife was taken. So 
Christ was alone for a time, and He passed, into a 
deep sleep, and His side was opened. He said, 
' ' Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and 
die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth 
much fruit." — John xii. 24 From His pierced side 
came forth blood and water. "There are three that 
bear witness in the earth, the Spirit, the water, and 
the blood;" and it is by faith in the testimony of 
these three that the church has been developed. What 
Christian can fail to see that in a deep spiritual sense 
the bride comes from His opened side? Oh! that 
all might see the spiritual meaning of the rib taken 
from Adam's side. 

The idea, maintained by some, that the Jewish na- 



EVE— THE WIFE AND MOTHER, 19 

tion is to be the bride of Christ cannot be sustained 
by such allegorical testimony. Its strongest support 
is the fact that she too was called a wife; but Israel 
was only a type (in national form) of the New Testa- 
ment Church, who alone is the espoused virgin, as 
we have seen, and is therefore the future bride. 

As surely as the church is the antitype of Eve as a 
Wife, so surely she is the antitype as a mother. Eve 
was the necessary help for Adim to manifest what 
God had created in him, and she herself was the first 
step in that direction. So the church is the channel 
through which the fullness of Christ's regenerating 
power will flow, so that she will be the mother of all 
humanity cs to spiritual and eternal life. The nat- 
ural race came by generation, after tho marriage, and 
the spiritual comes by regeneration, after the mar- 
riage of the Lamb. Some, who admit that the church 
is to be a wife, deny her motherhood rather than 
admit that the nations saved after the marriage will 
have the spiritual nature of Christ and. the church. 
Their difficulty is the unscriptural idea that the 
destiny of the race of men — or all that they expect 
will be saved after the marriage — is what they call 
" human perfection," in the earthly state. It would 
do them good to see that the race will be continued 
by natural generation, (see Perfect Day), and that 
the true perfection of man is spiritual, attained 
by our Head and Forerunner by sufferings. — Heb. ii. 
10. This spiritual and immortal destiny of man is 
more than suggested by the fact that Paul, in answer 
to the question, " What is man? " does not point to 
the so-called " human perfection "of Adam, but says, 
" We see Jesus," — the first, the promise, and securi- 
ty of what man is to be Why cannot all see that the 
object and proof of marriage is offspring, and that 
the glory of the wife, on both planes, is the power 
of motherhood — imparting her own nature to her 
children? 



20 MOSES AND CHBIST. 

Summary: Adam was a type of Christ, both as 
husband and father. Eve was a type of the Church, 
both as wife and mother. The marriage of the first 
pair was a type of the marriage of the second pair. 
The generation of mankind after the first marriage 
was a type of their regeneration after the marriage 
of the Lamb. As that is not due until the coming of 
the Bridegroom, it follows that the nations — the non- 
elect — are to be regenerated in " the ages to come." 
Eph. ii. 7. This we may call the unlimited Gospel 
according to Moses. 





MOSES AND SHRIST. 

— 133 — 
CHAPTER III. 

THE NEW JERUSALEM. 

N last chapter it was suggested that Eve was a 
type of the wife of the second Adam — the per- 
fect church, or New Jerusalem. 
It seems proper to say here that the bride of 
Christ is not a class, or number of people, but a sys- 
tem, which includes all the classes necessary to the 
perfection of the heavenly city, or ruling power of 
the world to come. The "little flock " of kings and 
priests is not the bride, but the highest class in the 
New Jerusalem system. They are to sit in the throne 
with Christ. But the New Jerusalem is not all throne. 
As it takes all the inhabitants, as well as the mayor 
and aldermen, to constitute an earthly city; so it re- 
quires all the inhabitants, as well as Christ and his 
associate rulers, to constitute the heavenly city. 
And yet that city as a whole, and not merely its royal 
priesthood, is called "the bride, the Lamb's wife." 

Rev. xxi. 9, 10, is the only place in the Bible where 
we find the term bride specifically applied. Let us 
observe the application and it may help us to see the 
larger view of this subject. The angel said to John: 
"Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's 
wife." Of course the angel did what he promised, 
and therefore what he showed John was ' ' the bride 
the Lamb's wife;" and John says: "And he [the 
angel] carried me away in the spirit to a great and 
high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the 
holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, 
having the glory of God." We should be careful, 

21 



22 3I0SES AND CHRIST. 

then, not to call anything" less or different by the 
name, "the bride, the Lamb's wife." 

To have this Scriptural view of the bride may en- 
able us also to obtain a more correct idea of what 
constitutes the marriage of the Lamb. It is not al- 
ways easy to lift the mind from the individual woman, 
and the momentary ceremony that makes her a wife, 
to the grander, broader idea of the bride of Christ 
which the earthly foreshadows. But it now seems 
that, inasmuch as the bride is the heavenly city, the 
marriage must include the full and complete or- 
ganization or setting up of that heavenly institu- 
tion. In harmony with this view, and the prophetic 
periods which mark the transition from the old age 
to the new one, why may not the marriage of the 
Lamb cover the whole period of forty years in which 
w T e now live, which w r e call the day dawn, and reach- 
ing to the full end of the "Times of the Gentiles," 
in the Spring of A. D. 1915? — See Day Dawn. 

The heavenly city of the book of Revelation is 
preceded by another city, called Babylon, which in 
due time it supplants. That city is described as a 
comprehensive system too, as united (illegally, so 
far as the law of Christ is concerned) with the kings 
of the earth, and therefore called a harlot. She is 
further described as the "Mother of harlots and 
abominations of the earth." — Rev. xvii, 5. This 
woman (also called ' ' That great city, which reigneth 
over the kings of the earth." — Verse 18.) the pro- 
phetic eye saw "drunken with the blood of the 
saints, and with the blood Of the martyrs of Jesus." 
Verse 6. With such a description, it is not difficult 
to identify either the c mother' or the ' daughters.' 
The Papal church claimed (not to say claims) to be 
the perfect church system, tho bride of Christ. That 
she was a counterfeit of the true, we may well allow, 
on account of her similarities. By her differences 
she is detected. Had she known the New Jerusalem 



THE NEW JEB USA LEM. 23 

method of destroying her enemies (killing them with 
kindness — "coals of fire," — Rom. xii. 20, 21, and the 
sword proceeding out of the Lord's mouth, Rev. xix. 
15), she would not have murdered millions of God's 
saints. But who with her power would then have 
done better? 

Looking at the breadth of organization of the 
counterfeit woman-city may help some to see the 
breadth of the heavenly w T oman-city — the New Jeru- 
salem. The counterfeit had a large citizenship as 
well as its Pope and his associate priesthood. And 
it required all the various elements, high and low, in 
the whole church, to constitute that counterfeit city, 
or bride. Who can fail to see the similarity, in this 
respect, at least, between the Babylon system and 
the New Jerusalem system which follows it and su- 
persedes it? In this transition period, Babylon falls 
to rise no more, and the New Jerusalem is fully or- 
ganized to rule and bless. 

Some have objected to the idea, previously ad- 
vanced (in Day Dawn,) that those saved after the 
marriage of the Lamb will enter and become parts 
of the heavenly city, "the bride, the Lamb's wife." 
They say that adding to the bride would make her a 
monstrosity. (This objection would apply with equal 
force to adding to the church after the espousal at 
Pentecost. The virgin is a woman as really as the 
wife, but it does not make a monstrosity to increase 
her membership.) It does not seem at all monstrous, 
*nor out of character, if we remember what the bride 
is — the heavenly city or New Jerusalem system. 
Millions were added to the Papal system after she 
was fully organized and united to the kings of earth. 
Lift the mind from the type to the great organism of 
the antitype, and all seems plain. And the very 
idea of the New Jerusalem having gates is that the 
nations may eat of "the tree of life, and enter in 
through the gates into the city." — Rev. xxii. 14. 



24 MOStiS AND C HEIST. 

The unsaved are out, and to come in is to be saved. 
The way the Papal church has proposed to be the 
' mother ' of all nations, and gather them to her 
bosom, as part of her own great organism, may sure- 
ly serve to illustrate how the heavenly city will be 
the ' mother ' of all nations, and in due time gather 
all into her bosom, as parts of her organism. The 
New Jerusalem is the true Catholic (universal) 
Church. And as Babylon is going down to rise no 
more, the New Jerusalem is coming down to take her 
place. 

This much about the New Jerusalem has been here 
given, to show, if possible, of what a grand, compre- 
hensive, universal system Eve is the type. And it 
seems as if all who can understand the position will 
see its strength and fullness, and no longer object to 
additions being made to the bride after the marriage. 
But whoever is right, or wrong, it is hoped that 
neither writer nor any reader will claim to be infalli- 
ble, nor make his view a test of Christian fellowship. 
With all the varieties of thought, may we all as 
brethren endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in 
the bonds of peace. 





MOSES AND SH^IST. 

— g£3 — 
CHAPTER IV. 

CAtN AND ABEL. 

N searching' for the typical meaning of characters 
and events in the writings of Moses, we do not 
expect to find them all teaching the same thing. 
The grand outline of the plan is given in the 
account of Adam and Eve; but there are many feat- 
ures of the plan not presented in that picture. 
Probably no two things are used for precisely the 
same purpose; but while some may cover the same 
ground in part, we may expect to find in each picture 
something peculiarly its own, so that by them all 
the whole gospel will be included. 

In Cain and Abel, we see the representatives of the 
two seeds, "the seed of the serpent," and " the seed 
of the woman, " (Gen. iii. 15), in their relation to 
each other, and to the Lord, in certain stages of their 
development and work. Cain was the elder, the 
firstborn, and Abel the younger. In their relation 
to each other, they represent the natural and the 
spiritual in God's plan. It is, "First the natural, 
and afterward the spiritual. " The difference be- 
tween them is the enmity. There is of necessity 
antagonism. The natural man persecutes the spirit- 
ual man, as illustrated afterward in the case of 
Ishmael and Isaac. — See Gal. iv. 29. The two seeds, 
the two classes — wicked and righteous — and the two 
systems — Babylon and Jerusalem, both in type and 
antitype — are all based on the same principle. While 
the natural has power to persecute, he has a present 
triumph, but the curse abides on the persecutor. 

26 



26 MOSES AND CHEIST. 

Cain's temporary triumph in the death of his brother, 
illustrates the bruising of the heel, (Gen. iii. 15), as 
does also the temporary triumph of all wicked men 
and persecuting powers; but "Abel, though dead, 
yet speaketh, " (Heb. xi. 4), by his faith and sacrifice. 
The natural fails, though for a time it triumphs; but 
the spiritual triumphs, though crushed to earth by 
the cruel hand of persecution. 

"Thy saints in all this glorious war, 

Shall conquer though they die ; 
They see their triumph from afar, — 

By faith they bring it nigh." 

In this case of Cain and Abel we have an illustra- 
tion of the difference between two kinds of sacrifice 
Abel's sacrifice was from the flock, and was there- 
fore acceptable; but Cain's sacrifice was from the 
ground, the fruit of his own labor, the natural, the 
earthly, which was as far from being acceptable as 
the earthly is from the heavenly. Cain's sacrifice 
was "The sacrifice of the wicked," which we are 
told, "is an abomination to the Lord." — Prov. xv. 8. 

Many are puzzled to know the real difference be- 
tween them. It is often said that Abel's sacrifice was 
of faith because it foreshadowed the sacrifice of 
Christ, while Cain's did not. This is truth, but it 
should not be confounded with the error of Substitu- 
tion. The sacrifice of Christ, rightly understood, is 
the sacrifice of the low nature, the carnal principle, 
the sin of the world. Christ in his earthly nature, 
stood not instead of the world, but for the world, as 
the Unit of the whole, — having been thus, by assum- 
ing our nature, " made sin for us, that we might be 
made the righteousness of God in him." — 2. Cor. v. 
21. The carnal nature, or sinful flesh, is represented 
by a beast, (and nothing short of a perfect beast 
could represent it fully) ; and the death of the beast, 
voluntarily sacrificed by a man for himself, as in 



CAIN AND ABEL. 27 

Abel's case, represents the spirit of self-humiliation, 
self-denial, self-crucifixion, self-sacrifice, which is 
the only means of a true and spiritual life and exal- 
tation, and therefore is alone acceptable to God. 
But the sacrifice of Gain, however valuable in itself, 
was but the proud honoring and exaltation of self 
before God, — like Pharisaic self -righteousness. 

In these two kinds of sacrifice may be seen the spirit 
of the two great systems, the natural and the spirit- 
ual, and their work down through the ages. The 
natural says, by its representatives: "Is not this 
great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the 
kingdom by the might of my power, and for the 
honour of my majesty?"' — Dan. iv. 80. They build a 
great tower to reach heaven by methods of their 
own, and get to themselves a great name in the earth. 
Thus it is that many of the rich and proud of earth, 
made rich often by oppression of the poor, build 
great churches, and endow colleges, and head sub- 
scriptions for benevolent purposes with large sums 
of money, and secure to themselves great honor and 
fame, and yet know nothing of giving up self in sac- 
rifice. On the other hand, the spirit of self-abase- 
ment and humility submits to the control of God, 
crucifies the flesh with its affections and lusts, and 
says: "Except the Lord shall build the house, the 
builders build in vain." 

The spirit of this theme is couched in the words 
of our Lord, words the substance of which is often 
expressed in the Bible: "Whosoever exalteth him- 
self shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself 
shall be exalted." — Luke xiv. 11. 




MOSES AND SHIEST. 

CHAPTER V. 

TOWER OF BABEL. 

HIS is considered next in order, because much 
of what has been said of Cain, and his sacrifice, 
or work of self-exaltation, is applicable here. 
The Babel building was an early manifestation, 
or promise, in an organic form, of the spirit of Baby- 
lon, in both the typical city of the Jewish age and 
the mystical Babylon of the gospel age. The spirit 
of Babel or Babylon (confusion) is the same in all its 
stages — promise, type and antitype. Pride, ambi- 
tion, self-exaltation, and effort at great and perma- 
nent worldly organization are its leading character- 
istics. These were clearly shown in the call to 
build: " And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and 
a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us 
make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad. — Gen. 
xi. 4. Here was an effort to reach heaven by methods 
of their own — by other means than, self-sacrifice, as 
represented in the offering of Abel in a sacrifice unto 
death. They may have shown a lack of faith in 
God's promise that he would not again drown the 
world, by their building a tower higher than the 
flood. But pride of name and organization was clear- 
ly prominent. 

The same spirit was manifested by the king of 
Babylon in his self-exaltation and national pride. 
He did not humble himself, in self-sacrifice, under 
the mighty hand of God; but glorying in his own 
power and might, he exclaimed, "Is not this great 
Babylon, that I have built, etc.?"— Dan. iv. 30 The 
28 



TO WEB OF BABEL. 29 

same spirit is manifested in the New Testament 
Babylon, before mentioned. It is the spirit of pride 
of sect and strong church organization. It is based 
on the principle that ' ' Union is strength, ' ' and that 
numbers give respectability. The latter is true, but 
the former has something of sophistry in it. RIGHT 
is strength, and union on right principles, and of 
right elements, manifests the strength of the right. 
But union may be attained on a false basis, and a 
mere greatness of number is never an evidence of 
spiritual strength or success. Thus far in the his- 
tory of mankind, the truth and right have usually 
been held by the minorities; and whoever is conscious 
of being right, had better stand with a few T , or even 
alone, than to compromise with evil for the sake of 
union. All human church organisms, however great, 
have "brick for stone, and slime for mortar;'' and 
what is intended to perpetuate, and which may pre- 
serve for a time, finally results in ruin. Union in 
Christ, as of " one body and one Spirit, " (Eph. iv. 4), 
is the only real, safe and permanent union. Union 
on any man-made creed, or other human foundation, 
will be dissolved, and the defeat w r ill be eternal. 

When the Babel builders had done their best, the 
Lord, by a peculiar judgment, thwarted their plans. 
So when the kingdom of Babylon had reached the 
summit of pride and human glory, the hand-writing 
on the wall revealed its doom. — Dan. v. 22-31. And 
so following the decree of Papal infallibility, (in 
1870), immediately came the downfall. God having 
declared that he that exalteth himself shall be abased, 
such being the spirit, such must be the fate, of 
Babylon in every form. 

The confusion of tongues is a striking thing in the 
history of Babel. It must have been both the result 
and expression of confusion of mind, as language is 
but the expression of thought. Of confusion of 
thought about spiritual things, the confusion of 



30 MOSES AND CHRIST. 

tongues must be the type. The fall of Babylon, in 
the great antitypical system, must be co-incident 
with a restoration of one tongue. When the watch- 
men see eye to eye, (Isa. Mi. 8), they will learn to 
speak the same language. " In that day there shall 
be one Lord, and his name one." — Zech. xiv. 9. Aft- 
er the destruction of Babylon, and all it represents, 
by the lire of God's jealousy, "Then," says the 
Lord, "will I turn to the people a pure language, 
that they may all call on the name of the Lord, to 
serve him with one consent/' — Zeph. iiL 8, 9. It is 
not to be limited to a mere literal unity of language, 
(though that will doubtless be included), but the 
grand thought is, that by the knowledge of the truth 
the confusion of ideas shall be done away, and all 
shall harmoniously worship the great God of love, 
the universal Father, and be blessed in him. For 
such an end, will not all loving souls fervently pray? 




s 



MOSES- AND SH^IST. 

— s$? — 
CHAPTER VI. 

ENOCH, THE SEVENTH FROM ADAM. 







E came on this side of the flood to take up the 
case of Babel. Let us now return to the 
antediluvian age to consider briefly the case 
of Enoch. The record of him, given in Gen. 
v. 21-23, is brief , but significant. In the generations 
before Noah, he is the only one of whom it is 
said that "He walked with God." He lived three 
hundred and sixty-five years, begat sons and daugh- 
ters, and the record closes thus: "Enoch walked 
with God: and he was not; for God took him." 

Paul places him on the short list of the antedi- 
luvian men of faith, and thus explains the brief 
record of Genesis: "By faith Enoch was translated 
that he should not see death; and was not found, be- 
cause God had translated him: for before his trans- 
lation he had this testimony, that he pleased God." 
— Heb. xi. 5. Jude tells us that Enoch was the sev- 
enth from Adam (not the seventh person, but the 
head of the seventh generation on the line of the 
seed leading to Christ), and that he foretold the 
Lord's coming to execute judgment, and to convince 
the ungodly. — Verses 14, 15. These three witnesses 
give us what may be known of the life, character 
and destiny of this wonderful man. 

The question is, Whom or what does Enoch repre- 
sent in the plan of the ages? He now appears to be 
the type of the church of the perfect day — as to 
their character, communion with God, and the man- 
ner of their transfer to the invisible state. Enoch 

31 



32 MOSES AND CHBIST. 

means initiated. The church in all the ages of the 
past and present has lived in a state of partial light, 
seeing through a glass darkly, and surrounded by 
the limitations of Babylon, in its various phases. 
But in the perfect day — represented by the perfect 
number, seven — she will have passed the limitations 
— all the narrowness of the sect, and all dark views 
of God and his plan — into the clear light of the Sun 
of Righteousness. She will be fully initiated into 
the grand mysteries of the kingdom of God. Enoch- 
like, her members will walk with God, during their 
stay on this side of the vail of the flesh, and when 
ready for the change to the heavenly state, they will 
not die, like their brethren of former ages, but will 
pass at once, "changed in a moment, in the twink- 
ling of an eye," — into the presence and companion- 
ship of the Lord and the church triumphant in his 
glory. It appears that the translation of Elijah is a 
type of the change at death, of those who have 
sinned, during the Lord's presence before the per- 
fect day, and Enoch of the sinless, changed after- 
ward. 

Of course, in all such matters it is not becoming to 
be over-positive. But we believe, and therefore 
speak. It seems that the Scriptures indicate trans- 
lation without death as the means of change in the 
perfect day, and use Enoch as the type. Why are 
we told that he was "the seventh from Adam?" 
Why was he able to walk with God? Why was he 
translated — carried over — instead of going down into 
sheol, or without dissolution? The best answer we 
can give, in the light of what we have seen of the 
Scriptural method, is, that Enoch was the type of 
the ideal church of the perfect day. 

The Two Enochs. 

The view that Enoch, "the seventh from Adam," 
is a type of the ideal church is not weakened by the 



THfi TWO ENOCHS. 33 

fact that there was an Enoch also on the line of 
Cain, (See Gen. iv 17),. and that there was a city 
built by the same name. These two Enochs are re- 
lated to each other as are the two great systems or 
cities of the Apocalypse, and of church history, 
Babylon is the counterfeit of the New Jerusalem, 
and the lower, or world-church, is the first in the 
order of development. She cares not for God's 
chronological order She ignores all study of the 
times and seasons, does not recognize the true order 
of the ages, applies Scriptures pertaining to the 
future reign and the bride of Christ, to herself 
and in the gospel age — calling herself the bride be- 
fore the marriage of the Lamb, and so ignoring the 
fact of mercy and the free out-flowing of the water 
of life after the marriage. — Rev xxii 17 She is in 
too great haste to wait to reign with Christ in the 
coming day. But the true Catholic (or Universal) 
Church, is not only clothed with the seven Christian 
graces (2. Pet i. 5-7), whose highest, the seventh, is 
love, but she also bides God's time. During the 
gospel age, she has been the chaste virgin waiting 
for the coming of the Bridegroom. The world will 
be regenerated after the marriage. 




(3) 




MOSES AND GH^IST. 

CHAPTER VII. 

THE FLOOD. 

OME Christians believe that the flood was a 
literal event, and some that it is an allegory, 
designed to illustrate important spiritual truths, 
or facts in human experience. Probably both 
are right. Some reject the literal, and others the 
allegorical, and there are people of spiritual mind on 
all sides of the question. As mere history, the flood 
would have both interest and value, but as an alle- 
gory of some features of God's plan, it assumes an 
importance that mere history could not possess. 
Aside from the Bible record, many students think 
they can see physical evidences that this earth has 
at some time been deluged with water; and there 
appears to be no good reason for denying it. 
In Matt. xxiv. 37-39, our Lord recognizes the his- 
torical character of both Noah and the flood. Christ 
and his Apostles seem to recognize the historical 
truth of all the writings of Moses, and the literal 
existence of all his characters; and we know of no 
better way than to do the same. But inasmuch as 
the spiritual is of more importance than the letter, 
let us seek this deeper meaning. If we succeed, it 
may be an evidence that there is gospel even in the 
terrible judgments of God. 

Let us look first at the cause of the flood. Gen. 
vi., shows that it was a punishment of a very pecul- 
iar form of wickedness and corruption — miscegena- 
tion, — the mixing of what should be distinct and 
separate. The "sons of God'' took them wives of 
34 



TEE FLOOD. 35 

1 'the daughters of men, ' ' and produced a race of strong- 
men that became mighty in the earth. And in the 
ninth verse, we learn that the difference between 
Noah and the rest was that ' ' Noah was a just man 
and perfect [margin, upright] in his generations;" 
which implies that Noah was one of the "sons of 
God " who was not guilty of the specified offence. 

Noah was "a preacher of righteousness," and 
some think this means that he was a preacher of the 
gospel, and that the people were destroyed for re- 
jecting Christ. But there is no evidence that even 
Noah himself knew the gospel, or that any of those 
destroyed ever heard of it. Only in the typical or 
allegorical sense can the gospel be found in those 
early times. Not even the law was then given. 
(Gal. iii. 17-19.) But Paul tells us that those who 
have not the (written) law, do by nature the things 
contained in the law, and are therefore a law unto 
themselves, shewing the w T ork of the law written in 
their hearts. — Rom. ii. 14, 15. It is nowhere said 
that the gospel is thus natural to people. It is a 
revelation of the love and mercy of God to those who 
have broken the law. Now, as righteousness — that 
is, right-doing — is based on law, and the principles 
of law are natural to the human mind, Noah could be 
" a preacher of righteousness," before the written 
law was given; but he could not be a preacher of the 
gospel before he learned it, inasmuch as it is not nat- 
ural to the human mind. " Faith cometh by hearing, 
and hearing by the word of God. " — Rom. x. 17. 

It is not to be assumed that Noah was perfect in 
every respect. But it seems more than probable 
that he preached righteousness by his action in stand- 
ing aloof from the masses in the matter of their crim- 
inal generation. And no doubt the flood was sent to 
destroy the corruption, — whatever else it may mean. 

There are different views as to who are meant in 
this early record by the "sons of God" and the 



3G MOSES AND CHRIST. 

' ' daughters of men. ' ' Some think that a class of 
spiritual or angelic beings came down and took hu- 
man wives, producing by the union a race of giants. 
Others hold that these ' ' sons of God ' were of an- 
other race then living on the earth. With either view 
the sons of Adam were not the sinners; but the rec- 
ord implies that they were, and that Noah was com- 
mended for not being like the rest. 

With all due regard for the opinions of others, we 
would express our own, that the ' ' sons of God ' ' is 
an expression applied to men on the line of descent 
from Adam through which Christ came, and that the 
' * daughters of men ' ' were the women of the other 
line. In other words, the former were the sons of 
Seth, who was given to Eve instead of the murdered 
Abel (Gen. iv. 25), and the latter were the descend- 
ants of Cain, the persecutor and murderer. We have 
seen that Cain and Abel (or Cain and Seth) represent 
the natural and the spiritual in God's plan; which 
are related to each other as God and man — heavenly 
and earthly. Adam was ' ' the son [the typical son] 
of God," (Luke iii. 36), and his descent and the bio- 
graphical and chronological history down to Christ, 
the antitypical Son of God, are all reckoned on the 
line of Seth. (See Gen. v. and Luke iii.) This is 
the line on which Enoch was " the seven ch from 
Adam. ' ' But the seed of the serpent, as represented 
by Cain, is not taken into account on that line. God 
had placed an enmity (and a line of separation) be- 
tween the two seeds, (Gen. iii. 15), and it was the 
violation of this divine arrangement, by intermar- 
riage, that constituted the crime of the antediluvians. 

The natural and spiritual (the difference between 
which is the basis of the enmity) have a manifesta- 
tion in their relation to each other in the individual, 
and also in an organized form in the history of man- 
kind. " First the natural, and afterward the spirit- 
ual, " is Heaven's order. The lower, the earthly, the 



TEE FLOOD. 37 

natural, has its time and place, but it must be de- 
stroyed. This is true, whether it be in the individ- 
ual, or in the organized people. " The ivorld passeth 
away, and the lust thereof." The destruction of the 
serpent and his seed was the object of the flood. 

The greatest sin consists in ignoring the proper 
distinction between the spiritual and the natural 
Out of this proceeds much that has cursed the world. 
And with the facts now before us, (in type), can we 
not readily see that the flood is a type of the over- 
throw that must come in consequence of the unholy 
alliance of the spiritual and the natural, of the church 
and the world? Who cannot see in the history of 
those times a prophetic picture of the strange ming- 
ling of the church and the world during the gospel 
age, and in the flood a foreshadowing of the fall of 
Babylon, which will prepare the way for the New 
Jerusalem, and the new world whererp. dwelleth 
righteousness? 

Cain and his descendants represented the lower, 
the natural, the earthly, the sensual, the devilish, in 
persons and their organizations; and Seth (who took 
Abel's place) and his descendants represented the 
higher, the spiritual, the heavenly principle, in per- 
sons or in their organization — the Church of Christ. 
The condemned intermarriage represented the alli- 
ance of heavenly principles with worldly policy, or 
in organic form, the union of Church and State, the 
Church and the World. This is the Babylon (or con- 
fusion) of the book of Revelation. Giants of earth 
(not spiritual) are the fruit of such union. The world 
is full of such giants today, — "mighty men of re- 
nown," — which may include the grand world-church 
systems, and other worldly institutions made grand 
by the overshadowing religious element, — in whom 
the spiritual is at a low ebb, even if recognized at 
all. There are good men, spiritual men, in those 
systems, who Noah-like will be saved out of them, 



38 MOStiS AND CHRIST. 

and, when the flood is past, will make the nucleus of 
a new world and a better order of things. . 

It may be that the modern educational system is 
one of the giant children of the union mentioned. 
We would not be understood a,s being opposed to a 
liberal education. There is good in the modern sys- 
tem, and it has done much good, but it is not per- 
fect. There is in it a great tendency to make infi- 
dels. The teachers develop the natural side of hu- 
man ability, but seldom the spiritual. They are 
dealing with Natural Science, and they seldom find 
the link that connects all true Science with God. 
Hence God is not in all their thoughts. Indeed, the 
tendency of much of the teaching is toward reason- 
ing God out of the universe. [We gladly allow that 
some teach otherwise]. This results in the excessive 
independence and exaltation of self, manifest today 
in nearly all the elements of society. The drift is 
away from all the old restraints. One of the first 
tendencies of popular education is revolutionary. 
The masses, who may have submitted tamely to the 
dictation of others, and even to oppression by wick- 
ed men and cruel systems, by education learn their 
strength and how to use it. And we may yet see 
[Are we not seeing?] the strange result of the upris- 
ing of the masses — made strong by their education — 
against the very systems which have given them 
their power. Who can fail to see such a tendency in 
our time ? It is the root of a coming conflict. It is 
natural and inevitable. 

It is not to sweep away what is good, in anything, 
that the flood is coming. But even what is good in 
education hastens the crisis. The things to be swept 
away are all outgrowths of the natural, selfish, 
Satanic element in human society. The curse is 
many-headed. Errors in government, oppressive 
measures, false and cruel elements in religious faith 
and societies, competition, selfish greed of gain, 



THE FLOOD. 39 

which leads to lying, cheating, stealing, and to the 
making and selling of such things as are a curse to 
society — all these and the conditions, civil and social, 
which they create, are the fruit of the unrestrained 
lower nature and must be swept away. Whatever is 
truly good will outlast the storm. What cannot be 
shaken will remain. (Heb. xii. 27.) 

There will be a great flood. It will be brought 
about by the ' ' breaking up of the fountains of the 
great deep," and by a long -continued rain. And 
the waters (the typical and prophetic word for 
"the people," — Rev. xvii. 1, 15.) will gradually 
rise against and cover and overwhelm the hills 
and mountains (all the human institutions and gov- 
ernments which have oppressed the people during 
the times of their former ignorance), and there will 
be a new world beyond the flood. This terrible up- 
heaval and submerging may be symbolized in Rev. 
xvi. 17-21. It is called the great day of the Lord's 
wrath. 

Here we can see the relation of the flood to the fire 
mentioned by Peter. They are two figures used to 
represent two different phases of the same thing. 
The water typifies the uprising of the people ; and 
the fire is the causative judgment power of God. 

Some will be hidden in God's ark, and carried safe- 
ly over the flood. "Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek 
of the earth, which have wrought his judgment ; 
seek righteousness, seek meekness : it may be ye 
shall be hid in the day of the Lord's anger." — Zeph. 
ii. 2. Noah and his family represent the hidden, the 
exalted ones, — those who yield not to the tide of the 
popular way, — those who have the spiritual con- 
sciousness of the sons of God, and will not consent 
to unholy alliance with the world, nor world-church 
systems. John describes them in Rev. xiv. 4 : 
* ' These are they which were not defiled with women 
[that is, corrupt world-church systems ] These are 



40 MOSES AND CHRIST. 

they that follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth 
These were redeemed from among men, being the 
firstfrnits unto God and to the Lamb." 

That company who make God their refuge have 
their song described in the forty-sixth psalm, which 
please read. It is a poetic picture of the coming 
flood, and tire, and the grand consequences. These 
are not afraid, because God is their refuge and 
strength. The earth (the low and old order of things) 
may be removed. The mountains (earthly organiza- 
tions and governments) may be carried away by the 
uprising of the waters of the great sea of mankind. 
But all is well with those in the Ark. The New 
Jerusalem with its living stream is theirs. God is 
with them, as their help and deliverer. 

Then comes in the other element of that revolution 
— the tire. " The heathen [the nations] raged, the 
kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the 
earth melted." As to the result of this flood and 
fire, the Psalmist giv£s a grand retrospective vision: 
" Come, behold the works of the Lord, what desola- 
tions he hath made in the earth. He maketh wars 
to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the 
bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burnetii the 
chariot in the fire. " Now let us catch the closing 
strain of this grand, prophetic song. It is the sweet- 
est music: " Be still, and know that I am God: I will 
be exalted among the heathen; I will be exalted in 
the earth." 

Then the people are to know the Lord and be 
blessed, for only thus could the name of the Lord be 
exalted and glorified. 

But some may say: " This is a national affair, and 
while it speaks of a good time coming, it does not 
speak of hope for all mankind; but rather the multi- 
tude is carried down without an apparent ray of 
hope." 

At first sight it does look dark, and many have 



THE FLOOD. 41 

been overwhelmed with the idea of its hopelessness. 
But now it does not appear hopeless. It is the de- 
struction of the evil that God has promised to accom- 
plish. And it is true that, "The wicked shall per- 
ish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat 
of lambs, and shall be consumed," It is true that, 
' i They shall utterly perish in their own corruption. ' ' 
But it is never said that such destructions are either 
endless or hopeless for the people. Hosea says they 
shall be ransomed from the power of hell, and hell 
[sheol — the low, th,e death state] itself shall be de- 
stroyed. (Hos. xiii. 14.) They that sow to the flesh 
shall indeed reap corruption; but there is light and 
hope beyond, for Paul declares that, "The whole 
creation shall be delivered from the bondage of cor- 
ruption, into the glorious liberty of the children of 
God."— Rom. viii. 21. 

An important lesson to be learned is, that God 
deals with individuals as with nations. He destroys 
the worthless element and saves his own out of the 
flood or fire. He will only destroy the seed of the 
serpent, the works of the devil, and will save his 
own work; and man himself is the work of God. He 
saves men by destroying tho carnal nature and mak 
ing them alive in Christ. This will be the result of 
the flood in its individual application. 

It is necessary to refer to baptism here, as an 
Apostle of Christ says that the flood was a type of 
it. (See 1. Pet. iii. 20, 21.) The flood was transition- 
al; it carried over from the old world to the new. So 
is baptism transitional; it carries over from the old 
state to the new, from the natural to the spiritual. 
It is not merely of the ordinance of baptism that 
this is to be understood, but of the spiritual reality. 
The value of the ordinance lies in the fact that it is 
a symbol of the reality. The real baptism consists 
in death to the carnal, and the regeneration by the 
Spirit, It includes negative good, by ceasing to do 



42 MOSES AND CHBIST. 

evil, and positive good, by learning to do well. For 
this reason Christ could say of the symbol: " Thus 
it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness.' ' It thus 
becomes, as Peter says, "The answer of a good con- 
science toward God. " May the Lord enable all to 
see the true relation between the letter and the spirit 
of baptism, between the symbolic death and resur- 
rection and the grand reality symbolized. And may 
we thus learn that the purpose of the flood and of 
baptism is one and the same — to destroy the carnal 
and bring in a righteous state. 

We may thus draw a grand gospel lesson even 
from the flood, — which when rightly understood does 
not weaken, but tends to confirm our faith in the 
universal love of God and the largest hope for man- 
kind. 




MOSES AND SHRIST. 




CHAPTER VIIL 

RAVEN AND DOVE, 

N connection with the history of the flood, let 
us consider what is said in Genesis viii. 6-12 of 
oG) the sending forth of the raven and the dove. 
It appears to be a picture of the Lord's method 
of dealing with mankind in his plan of the ages. 

The raven was sent out first, and went to and fro 
until the waters were dried up from off the face of 
the earth. — Verse 7. From the color and devouring 
habit of that bird, it would appear to be a type of 
the evil spirit, the devil, who goeth about as a roar- 
ing lion, seeking whom he may devour. Afterward 
the dove was sent out, — a type of the Holy Spirit, 
That Spirit appeared in the form of a dove at the 
baptism of Christ. The typical character of this 
bird has therefore been impressed upon the minds of 
many people. It gave rise to the words of the hymn 
often sung: — 

" Come Holy Spirit, heavenly Dove, 
With all thy quickening powers; 

Come, shed abroad a Saviour's love, 
And that shall kindle ours." 

The relation of these two birds, first the raven and 
afterward the dove, is illustrative of the important 
principle that characterizes God's plan, — first the 
darkness, then the light; first the black, then the 
white; first sin, then righteousness; first the natural, 
afterward the spiritual; first death, followed by life 

43 



44 MOSES AND CHRIST. 

and immortality. " The wages of sin is death, but 
the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ 
our Lord," (Rom. vi. 23); "Who hath abolished 
death, and brought life and immortality to light 
through the gospel." — 2. Tim. i. 10. The raven rep- 
resents the spirit of darkness, sin, and death; and 
the dove represents the Spirit power by which all 
these elements will be removed, and mankind recon- 
ciled to God. 

Observe that the raven was sent out but once, 
even as the devil went forth once for all;, while the 
dove was sent out three times. At the first sending 
out, the dove "found no rest for the sole of her foot," 
and returned to Noah in the ark, showing that the 
water still covered the ground. — Verse 9. When 
sent out a second time, " the dove came in to him in 
the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf 
plucked off: so Noah knew that the waters were 
abated from off the earth." — Verse 11. And when 
sent the third time, she returned to him no more.— 
Verse 12. She had found a place of rest. 

It appears that the dove being sent three times 
must represent three distinct dispensations of the 
Spirit in the work of reconciling the world to God, 
in harmony with his plan of the ages, — her first 
sending, and her finding no rest for the sole of her 
foot, representing the Jewish age, at the end of 
which Christ came seeking fruit and finding none. 
That church was like the blasted fig-tree, though its 
holy men had spoken as they were moved by the 
Holy Spirit. (2. Pet. i. 21.) 

The second sending, at which the dove returned 
with ' ' an olive leaf plucked off, ' ' appears to repre- 
sent the work of the Spirit in the gospel age, 
poured upon a few, ' ' the servants and hand-maidens, ' ' 
who, as the church of Christ, are gathered as ' ' the 
firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb." These are but 
as a handful, compared to the great harvest of God, 



BA VEN AND BO YE. 45 

but, like the olive leaf, they are a promise of the 
coming victory. 

The third sending, when she returned no more, as 
clearly represents the dispensation following the in- 
gathering of the firstf ruits and the marriage of the 
Lamb, when the Spirit, instead of being confined to 
a few, the elect, will be poured ' ' upon all flesh, ' ' 
and ' ' all the ends of the world shall remember and 
turn to the Lord, ' ' and ' ' all flesh shall see the sal- 
vation of our God. " # In the gospel age, the Spirit 
gathers out a few, and, as the dove brought the olive 
leaf, brings them into the ark. But in the ages fol- 
lowing, the Spirit will not be doing a work of 
selection and gathering out a people for Christ's name, 
but will find a lodgment in all hearts. 

These seem to be the facts, as revealed in the 
word, in reference to the Jewish and gospel ages 
and the other ages yet to come. The Jewish age 
was fruitless, as far as spiritual results are con- 
cerned; the gospel age gives the firstf ruits unto 
God and the Lamb; and then follows the complete 
harvest, when Christ shall see of the travail of his 
soul and be satisfied. And in view of these facts, 
concerning the work of the devil and the work of 
Christ, it seems very probable that the relation of 
the sending of the raven and the sending of the dove 
was designed as an allegorical picture of the plan of 
the ages. This illustrates the progressive character 
and success of the gospel of Christ. 



MOSES AND SH^IST. 



CHAPTER IX. 

NUMBER THREE. 

MA et us here, in connection with the three dis- 
/vjA pensations of the Spirit, as represented by the 
:^7 three visits of the dove, consider some of the 
^ uses of .the number ' Three ' in the Bible. It 
is used so often, and so strikingly, in the Sacred 
Writings, that it seems appropriate to speak of it as 
a ' Sacred Number. ' It appears to be fundamental 
in God and man, in the structure of the heavens and 
earth, in the plan of the ages, in the structure of the 
Word, and in the process of human development, or 
the coming of man to God. 

As God is the Creator of all things, we may rea- 
sonably expect them in some sense to bear his im- 
press. Probably the common use of ' Three ' grows 
out of this truth. Though many have perverted it, 
is there not still a sense in which the * Trinity ' is a 
reality? Father, Son, and Holy Spirit— the Divine 
Three — (though never in the Word called " three 
Persons, 7 ') are often mentioned in the Bible. This is 
fundamental, as shown in the commission of Christ, 
(Matt, xxviii. 19), and suggests the idea of Creation, 
Redemption and Regeneration—the three steps in 
bringing mankind to the image of God. The Son 
and the Spirit are both expressions or manifestations 
of the Father, the one Eternal Spirit. The Son man- 
ifested God in the flesh in personal form, and the 
Spirit manifests him in a higher and, in some re- 
spects, more effectual manner. The superiority of 
46 



NUMBEB THBEE. 47 

the Spirit's presence and work over those of Jesus 
in the flesh, is expressed in the words of Jesus to his 
disciples: " It is expedient for you that I go away; 
for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come. " — 
John xvi. 7. The Spirit is not limited, as to the 
place of his operations, as was Jesus in the flesh. 
This does not belittle him, for when his work in the 
flesh was done, he w x as highly exalted, and received 
the Name which is above every name, (Phil. ii. 9- 
11), and we have a right to consider him as a per- 
sonal embodiment of "all the fullness of God," — 
" all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge;" so it 
is from himself, representing him, and as proof of 
his own victory, that the Spirit comes. — (Col. i. 19; 
ii. 3, 9; Acts ii. 33; John xx. 26.) 

There is a trinity in man — "spirit and soul and 
body." — 1. Thess. v. 23. They are not three per- 
sons, but it requires the three to make one person. 
The spirit is man's inmost, of which God is the 
Father; the soul is the animal nature or life; and the 
body is the outward form or expression of the in- 
ward entity and power. It appears that all created 
living bodies are produced from within, drawing 
from the substances without by means of the inner, 
mysterious, organizing power. This illustrates how 
all visible things are created by the pow T er of the in- 
visible and eternal God. — Rom. i. 20. 

The spirit of man, mentioned in 1. Thess. v. 23, as 
a subject of sanctification, should not be confounded 
with the air which a man breathes, though the same 
primary word represents both spirit and breath. If 
so confounded, it leads to the further absurdities 
that the angels, called spirits, are only breath; and 
even that God himself, who is Spirit, (John iv. 24), 
is only breath. Peter tells us of Christ preaching 
the gospel to the " spirits in prison," (1. Pet. iii. 19, 
20 and iv. 6); and Paul tells us of "the spirits of just 
men made perfect. ' ' — Heb. xii. 23. Spirits that can 



48 MOSES AND CHBIST. 

hear the gospel and be perfected, cannot mean the 
breath of air in a man's lungs. And the spirit of 
man, which is sanctified and perfected, should not 
be confounded with the indwelling Spirit of God by 
which that sanctification and perfection are accom- 
plished. The one pertains to man's being, while he 
is yet unsanctified, while the other is the Guest and 
Comforter of the sanctified. This distinction between 
the two spirits is observed by the Apostle, when he 
says : ' ' The Spirit [of God] itself beareth witness with 
our spirit that we are the children of God." — Rom. 
viii. 16. God's Spirit testifies, and man's spirit re- 
ceives the testimony. 

Again, the plan of the ages is based upon three 
grand divisions, called three worlds, or three dis- 
tinct " heavens and earth." The first was the 
period from the creation of Adam to the flood, 
the second is from the flood to the end of the 
gospel age, at the second coming of Christ, and the 
third begins where the second ends and includes all 
the future. In 2. Pet. iii, these three worlds are 
brought to view. The first heavens and earth, being 
overflowed with water, perished. The second is re- 
served unto fire, against the day of judgment and the 
perdition of ungodly men. But there is promise of 
a new heavens and a new T earth wherein righteous- 
ness shall dwell or prevail. 

This shows that three is fundamental in the struct- 
ure of the plan, and that the third state is the high- 
est. In the third world, [Gr. kosmos, order] the rul- 
ing powers will be Christ and the saints, the over- 
comers of former ages, raised to immortality, and 
therefore invisible to mortals. But, (like the king- 
dom of Satan, which they supersede), they will act 
through visible agents, producing results grand and 
glorious, the very opposite of the results of Satan's 
rule. All nations will serve and obey the Lord, and 
be blessed in him. (Dan. vii. 14-27; Gen. xxii. 18; 



NUMBER THREE. 49 

and Psalm lxxii. 17.) In that state, by his own 
agencies, the tabernacle of God shall be with men, 
and the curse shall be gradually removed. (Rev. 
xxi. 3, 4.) 

The use of number three, and the third being the 
highest, is seen in several other things. In the 
original earth there were three divisions: 1. The 
broad undeveloped expanse; 2. Eden; and 8. "A 
garden, eastward in Eden." (Gen. hi. 8-10.) Many 
suppose that Eden was the garden, but the above 
passage shows that "the garden of Eden" was the 
eastward portion of Eden. This garden — the third 
and inmost place — w T as an earthly paradise. There 
the Lord's presence was manifested. 

Again, w^e read of Paul being caught up, or away, 
to ' ' the third heaven, ' ' or " paradise, ' ' where he had 
a glimpse, that he was not permitted to reveal, of 
the presence and glory of God. (2. Cor. xii. 1-4.) 
A third heaven implies that there are three heavens, 
and the Bible never speaks of more. Some think 
that Paul was simply caught forward, in a vision, 
to the third heaven, or the state that is to be on the 
earth after the second coming of Christ; but if this 
were so, he must have known whether he was caught 
away "in the body, or out of the body." He must 
have known that no person could be caught bodily 
into the future even one day. 

It is evident that there are three places or states 
in the structure of the heavens, and that the earthly 
arrangement and manifestations were at tixst and are 
to be because there are three heavens. All God's 
works on earth correspond to the plan of the heavens. 
The three heavens are represented by the three 
places — court, holy and most holy — in the Mosaic 
tabernacle. He was told that it was a pattern of 
heavenly things. Three places in type represent 
three states or conditions in the antitype. God is in 

(4) 



60 MOSES AND CHRIST. 

the third, or highest, or inmost state. Hence he 
was and is manifest in the most holy, and in the 
human spirit, as he was manifested in paradise, and 
is to be again in the third world of the future. 

This order of the heavens has doubtless its corre- 
spondence in the mental structure of man, and for 
this reason, the three places in the tabernacle would 
represent the three steps in man's approach to God, 
or the three stages in his spiritual development, 
spoken of by the Saviour as, " First the blade, then 
the ear, after that the full corn in the ear." The 
first apartment, sometimes called the " court," and 
sometimes the "holy place," (The first is usually 
admitted; for proof of the second, see Exod. xxix. 
31; Lev. xiv. 18; xvi. 24.) had in it the altar of 
burnt offering and the laver. It is the place of 
sacrifice and washing, and therefore corresponds 
to the first phase of Christian life. The killing 
of the beast at the altar is the reconciling act 
— a type of conversion, the change from being 
an enemy to a friend. At this point, the leading 
desire is to be cleansed from all filthiness of the flesh 
and spirit. As water cleanses, it typifies the cleans- 
ing power of the truth. The altar and the laver are 
thus properly related. It is like accepting the sacri- 
fice of Christ by faith and then being baptized. This 
order shows that Moses was moved by the Spirit of 
God when he made the tabernacle and arranged the 
furniture. 

The second apartment — the ' ' holy ' ' — had the shew- 
bread, the seven lamps, and the "golden altar," or 
"altar of incense. " These represent the deeper, or 
spiritual, or invisible, phase of the Christian life. 
The seven lamps typify the revealed light in which 
he walks. The shewbread represents the spiritual 
bread by which he lives. And the altar of incense 
represents the place or condition near to the vail 
where he worships. In the antitype of all these the 



NUMBER THREE. 51 

Christian walks, eats, and worships by faith. In 
these — the court and the holy — both in type and anti- 
type — there are a coming to God and a receiving from 
him. But the third is the highest state, the "holiest 
of all," or " heaven itself."— Heb. ix. 8, 24, When 
that state is reached, the victors become givers, and 
turn round, as it were, to help others. Having thus 
come to God, his love is fully shed abroad in 
their hearts, and they look upon humanity in a new 
light. Truly they are kings and priests to help the 
fallen, bless them with light and knowledge, and 
lead them to God. 

We have thus spoken of the three places as rep- 
resenting three conditions .of mind obtainable by 
Christians in the mortal life. They are like three 
degrees of Christian life. The first state is the recon- 
ciled, in which they desire to do right and be like 
Christ. All Christians are in that state. The second 
state has more particular reference to obtaining the 
knowledge of God's revealed purpose and plan. All 
Christians are not in that state. They are compara- 
tively a small number who seek to know all that the 
seven lamps reveal. Many even discourage investi- 
gation. But they should know that God's purpose 
and plan must be understood, before any one can 
intelligently co-operate with him. Of course, the 
second state includes the conditions of the first. It 
cannot be gained without the first. The Saviour 
combines the two when he says, "If ye will do his 
will, ye shall know of the doctrine. ' ' The third state, 
or degree, is reached by the way of the first and sec- 
ond. The third is love, the love of God shed abroad 
— not love for God, but his spirit of love for man- 
kind. It is not a desire to be saved, but a desire to 
bless and save others. The number is perhaps com- 
paratively small who have come to this degree, — 
who in consequence of first desiring to be right and 
to do the will of God, and, second, making a special 



52 MOSES AtfD CHRIST. 

effort to know God's purpose and plan in reference 
to mankind, have been so far successful as to be- 
come imbued with God 's own love for mankind. God 's 
love for all is the true basis of his hope for all. Duty, 
knowledge and love are a grand trinity in the Chris- 
tian life. 

Again, it appears evident that these three places in 
the tabernacle may not only be applied to the three 
states of mind, as above, while we are walking by 
faith, but that they also represent the three con- 
ditions of body as brought to view in the person of 
Christ: 1. Before his death; 2. Between his res- 
urrection and ascension; and, 3. After his ascen- 
sion. In the type, only the " court, " or place of 
sacrifice and washing, was open and visible, while 
the " holy " and the " most holy " were covered and 
invisible. What was true of the Head, in the anti- 
type, will be true of his followers. He showed us 
the way of life. He was evidently in the " court " 
during his earth-life — the life of sacrifice. He re- 
mained in the middle state forty days after his res- 
urrection, before ascending into the third state, or 
"heaven itself," — the immediate presence of God. 

Whatever Christian lives up to his privileges, is in 
these higher conditions by faith, or mentally, but not 
bodily. When, in due time and order, the spiritual 
mind is clothed with and expressed in a spiritual body, 
then he will be fully in possession of what he now 
enjoys by faith. Now, " We walk by faith, not by 
sight. ' ' The contrast between ' ' now ' ' and ' ' then, ' ' 
as to knowledge, is given by Paul, in 1. Cor. xiii., 
" Now I know in part; but then shall I know even as 
also I am known;" " Now we see through a glass, 
darkly; but then face to face;" " When that which 
is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be 
done away." 

The perfect does not mean the infinite, (the finite 
can never become infinite), but is limited by what is 



NUMBER THREE. 53 

revealed, as represented by the seven burning lamps. 
Doubtless the education of the saints who have died 
in ignorance of the fullness of God's love and saving 
power, or who now pass into that life, will be speed- 
ily finished in the holy, by the light of the lamps 
without a vail between, to fit them for the higher 
step and the greater power as kings and priests to 
execute God's plan in blessing all mankind. 

An understanding of this subject of the three 
places, representing the three conditions, is the key 
to the understanding of the coming and presence of 
Christ. He comes again, not to the court, or mortal 
condition; (That was the level of the typical church, 
and was the condition of sacrifice as a sin-offering, 
and therefore does not need to be repeated) ; but he 
comes now to the middle apartment or state, and the 
saints meet him there. They, if enlightened, see him 
there by faith, based on the prophetic word; but they 
will not see him face to face until they like him pass 
through the vail of the flesh. This explains how he 
can be present, and yet invisible, in this his day. 

It has been suggested, or perhaps, by some, defi- 
nitely claimed, that only a ' ' little flock, " will ever 
enter the holiest, or take a seat with Christ in his 
throne. This is promised to the overcomers. — Rev. 
ii. 26 and iii. 21. The " great multitude' of the 
blood-washed, are not said to be crowned, nor in the 
throne, but are said to be before the throne as serv- 
ants. This is given as the location of the golden al- 
tar, and also of the " sea of glass, like unto crystal, " 
and is therefore in the middle condition. (See Rev. 
iv. 6; vii. 9, 15, viii. 3. Indeed, it seems that after 
the antitypical day of atonement is ended, (which in 
type was only one day in the year), there will be in 
the continual service of the Lord for the good of men, 
three classes, represented by the High Priest, the 
Lower Priests, and the Levites, occupying their re- 
spective stations in the great work The New Jeru- 



54 MOSES AND CHBIST. 

salem system probably includes them all. The apos- 
tle speaks of the gradation of sun, moon and stars in 
the resurrection life, (1. Cor. xv. 41) and it is our 
blessed privilege to ''press toward the mark, for the 
prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus," 
(Phil. iii. 14), that we may "shine as the sun." — Matt 
xiii. 43. There were three stories in the Ark (Gen. 
vi. 16), which may also represent the three grades 
in the kingdom of Christ — the true ' ' Ark of safety. ' ' 
There were three things of special interest (in addi- 
tion to the tables of the covenant) in the third apart- 
ment of the typical tabernacle, — the golden pot of 
manna, Aaron's rod that budded, and the ineffable 
light of God's presence. Whatever they may mean, 
it is over and above the perfect conditions of the sec- 
ond apartment. These no doubt refer to the things 
of Paul's vision, which he was not permitted to utter, 
or which the people were not prepared to receive. (2. 
Cor. xii. 1-4. That in some way they refer to what 
the overcomers will see and know and share, when 
they reach the thione, or the highest position, can 
hardly be doubted. This is scarcely left to inference, 
m view of our Lord's promise that the overcomer 
shall have "the hidden manna." — Rev. ii. 17. They 
are also promised a share with him in his glory, in 
whose presence is fullness of joy. — Rom. viii. 17 and 
Ps. xvi. 11. It also appears clear that Aaron's rod, 
that had life in it, must typify the ruling power 
which is for the purpose of imparting life and bless- 
ing. The overcomer certainly has the promise of 
power over the nations, and to rule as a royal priest. 
(Rev. ii. 26, 27; iii. 21; v. 10.) The assurance is strong 
that the overcomer shall follow his Head — Christ — 
into the third heaven, and being one with him, shall 
share the glory of his royal priesthood, — the priest- 
hood of blessing which is not limited to any age, as 
was the Aaronic priesthood, but is endless, "after the 
order of Melchizedek. " — Heb. v. 6 and vii. The end- 



NUMBER THREE. 55 

less priesthood clearly implies the perpetuity of 
God's plan of generation and regeneration. In view 
of the glimpse given to Paul, when he was caught 
away to- the third heaven, it may not be surprising 
that he, more than any other Apostle, reveals the 
absolute and universal success of the gospel of 
Christ. (See Eph. i. 10; ii. 7; Phil. ii. 9-11; Col. i. 
15-20.) 

There are many threes, in the Bible, of more or 
less importance. Noah had three sons — Ham, Shem, 
and Japheth — the fathers of the race after the flood. 
The covenant fathers are also three — Abraham, Isaac, 
and Jacob. The second of the three worlds, before 
mentioned, has three ages — Patriarchal, Jewish, and 
Gospel, — three progressive steps from the lower to 
the higher in the plan of revelation. The Jewish, 
Gospel, and Millennial Ages — three kingdom ages, 
typical, mystical and glorious — may be regarded as 
three dispensational steps in the manifestation of 
Christ — the fullness of God. These are the three 
mentioned as being typified by the three visits of the 
dove. In the Jewish age, God's word found expres- 
sion in types and prophecies, by the Spirit of Christ 
in the prophets (1. Pet. i. 11), he not being yet mani- 
fested in person. If we include the closing of the 
Jewish age up to the destruction of Jerusalem, the 
whole Bible — both Old and New Testaments — was 
written in that age. The work of the Spirit in the 
gospel age has been to g]orify him as a Person, and 
hold him, though unseen, before the minds of men 
for their acceptance. The fruit of this age — the elect 
church — becomes the power of wiiat follows; hence 
Christ, embodied and manifested as the perfect 
church, — ' ' the pillar and ground of the truth," (1. 
Tim. iii. 15, 16), will be held as a magnet and invin- 
cible power before the world of mankind, and they 
will believe. (John xvii. 21-23; xii. 32.) Then the 
Spirit will not be confined to the few, but shall be 



56 MOSES AND CHRIST. 

poured upon all flesh. — Acts ii. 17. When the Spirit- 
Dove finds a place of rest, God shall be all in all.— 1. 
Cor. xv. 28. 

God's love for man, exhibited in the death of his 
Son, has the testimony of three witnesses — the Spir- 
it, the water, and the blood, — " and these three agree 
in one."— 1. John v. 8. There are three baptisms — 
by water, Spirit, and fire. — Matt. iii. 11. The state- 
ment of John doubtless had primary reference to the 
disposition made of the Jewish nation at the end of 
their age. That was under the supervision. of Christ, 
and was a harvest work of three elements — separa- 
tion, gathering and burning. John had baptized a 
mixed multitude with water, but afterward some of 
them were baptized with the Holy Spirit, and some of 
them with fire [judgments]. The baptism of the Spir- 
it was at Pentecost, and the fire was the " wrath to 
come, ' ' the unquenchable fire which came on the chaff 
of the Jewish nation, resulting in the destruction of 
Jerusalem. That harvest and its attending judg- 
ments have a parallel here, at the close of the gospel 
age. This also has three elements — separation, gath- 
ering, and burning. — Matt. xiii. 30, 40. The manner 
of the fulfillment of the judgments at the close of the 
Jewish age, and the everlasting, or age-lasting, pun- 
ishment on that nation, should help people to under- 
stand the limitation of the judgments and the ever- 
lasting punishment down here. (Matt. xxv. ) 

While the three baptisms had a national applica- 
tion, they have also an individual one. The Lord 
often deals with the individual as with the nation, in- 
asmuch as the one has the qualities of the many, 
"Water baptism is, of course, only external, but it is an 
expression of loyalty to Christ, and a symbol of 
death and resurrection. It therefore represents the 
Christian's faith in the death and resurrection of 
Christ; his hope, in that, " Because he lives, we shall 
live also;" and the practical life — dying to sin and 



NUMBER THREE, 57 

rising into the new and higher life. It is a pledge 
to such a death and resurrection. 

But the baptism of the Spirit is necessary to en- 
able us to fulfill our pledge, because such loyalty 
and consecration are not possible to the natural man. 
Paul says, " The carnal mind is enmity against God: 
for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed 
can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot 
please God, But ye are not in the flesh, but in the 
Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you." 
Rom viii. 7-9. 

Then the baptism of fire in the individual is equiv- 
alent to the "fiery trials " from without or within, 
chastisements, afflictions, and tribulations through 
which we must enter the kingdom of God. It is for 
the destruction of the flesh, or carnal nature, 
* ' that the body of sin might be destroyed. ' ' It was 
therefore represented in the type by the burning of 
the body of the slain beast, — See Lev. xvi. 

God's purpose with each individual is manifest in 
his dealing with the nation; — he destroys the ' chaff, ' 
or the works of the devil, and saves or preserves the 
* wheat, ' his own work. 

Christ rose the third day, and Paul calls it gospel. 
1 Cor. xv. 1-4. His victory secures the victory 
of the world, in due time, because he represented all. 
See John xii. 31-33; 2. Cor. v. 14, 

But why did he rise the third day? and why is it 
gospel? In the Person of Christ, the Church and 
the Jewish nation are represented. A day in case of 
the person, is made to represent a thousand years in 
the history of the church and the nation. The church 
is to be raised early in the seventh thousand years — 
which is the third day, or thousand, from Christ's 
time. It is also the last day, spoken of by the Sav- 
iour — that is, the last day of the Lord's great week 
of thousands, the millennium. These agreements 
are not of chance* 



58 MOSES AND CHBIST. 

Jonah cast into the deep, and afterward delivered, 
appears to foreshadow the history of the Jewish na- 
tion. Christ left them desolate, and they are to be 
restored in the third thousand-year day. Jonah in 
' ' hell ' ' (sheol or hades) represents the desolate state 
of Israel since Christ's time. See Jonah ii: "■ Out of 
the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice. 
For thou hadst cast me into the deep, and the floods 
compassed me about * *. Then I said, I am cast 
out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy 
holy temple. I went down to the bottom of the 
mountains [type of governments] ; the earth with its 
bars was about me FOREVER; yet hast thou brought 
up my life from corruption." 

Here is a clear type of deliverance from the bond- 
age of corruption, after being punished ' forever. ' 
This means the same as everlasting, an age, repre- 
sented in the experience of Jonah by three days. It 
is not difficult to see the true application when we 
have the thousand-year day key. 

In Hosea vi. is another case in point: — " Come, let 
us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn [left deso- 
late], and he will heal [restore] us; he hath smitten, 
and he will bind us up. After two days he will revive 
us; in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall 
live in his sight. " This prophecy of 'days' is in 
harmony with the view above presented; and, is it in 
harmony with any other view? With this view of 
the restoration of Israel and the exaltation of the 
Church in the dawn of the millennium, we can see 
why it is gospel that the King of Israel and the 
Head of the Church rose victorious on the third day, 
" very early in the morning." We are living at the 
point where these things are soon to be realized. 
These facts should modify the claim of some that 
Jesus, in order to fulfill prophecy and his own word, 
must have remained exactly seventy -two hours in 
the tomb. May the Lord anoint our eyes with his own 



NUMBER THREE, 59 

eyesaive, that we may see things in his light, and be 
enabled to stand ready for whatever call he niay 
make upon us. 

The law of progression seen in the three places of 
the tabernacle, and applied to the three steps in the 
development of the Christian, or his way in coming 
to God, may also be applied to the three dispensa- 
tions — Jewish, Gospel, and Millennial. The Jewish 
age, like the court was specially a period of external 
service. It was emphatically a dispensation of ordi- 
nances, whose light was but a foreshadowing of the 
gospel. The Gospel age, like the holy, has the high- 
er and invisible service of the heart, with very few 
external ordinances, and the light of the Spirit. In 
Revelation i., where Christ's relation to the church 
of the gospel age, with its seven phases, is brought 
to view, he is represented as walking in the midst of 
the seven golden candlesticks. As the seven lamps 
were in the middle apartment of the typical arrange- 
ment, it shows that the gospel church, as to its in- 
ner life, is reckoned in the middle state of the an- 
titypical arrangement — the three heavens. But the 
future age will be, to the church, as the holiest of 
all, the third heaven. The light of the Jewish age 
is as the moon, which is borrowed from the sun; but 
the gospel church is as a woman clothed with the 
sun, and the moon under her feet (Rev. xii. 1); but in 
her future glory she will "have no need of the sun, 
nor of the moon, * * for the glory of the Lord 
did lighten it." — Rev. xxi. 23. This glory was the 
light of the third apartment in the typical system. 

It is a point of special importance that Jesus fore- 
told the success of his mission in the parable of the 
4 ' leaven, which a woman [the church] took and hid 
in three measures of meal, until the whole was leav- 
ened."— Matt, xiii. 33. 

Some seeing that if the leaven represents the pow- 
er of truth, this would be a prophecy of universal sal- 



60 MOSES AND CUBIST. 

vation, have maintained that leaven is always a 
type of evil. If this be so, should not the parable 
be taken as a prophecy of universal damnation? But 
the subject of this parable is not evil, Babylon, nor 
the kingdom of Satan. It is " the kingdom of heav- 
en " that is here likened to leaven; and the parable 
can mean no less than that God's kingdom, which is 
an embodiment and expression of Himself, in his 
wisdom, love, and truth, is planted in the world of 
mankind, for the purpose of giving them his own nat- 
ure and life, represented by the raising power of 
the leaven, thus creating them in his own image; and 
that he will not fail nor be discouraged until the 
work is fully accomplished. 

That the working of evil is sometimes represented 
by the operation of leaven is true; but it is not al- 
ways so. God's kingdom is not evil, yet its work is 
represented by leaven. The leaven of the Pharisees 
— which is hypocrisy — is evil; but there is a vast dif- 
ference between the leaven of God and the leaven of 
the Pharisees. 1. Cor. v. 6-8, is a case in which 
leaven refers to evil; but Lev. xxiii. 15-21, is a case 
where it must refer to good. The "wave loaves," 
it is said, " shall be baked with leaven; they are the 
firstfruits unto the Lord." If as generally admitted, 
the wave sheaf was a type of the resurrection of 
Christ; then the wave loaves, fifty days later, must 
have represented the Pentecostal baptism of the 
Spirit, an expression of the quickening and rais- 
ing power of the risen Son of God. Glorious leaven! 

" But, " it is said, " leaven working in flour is a 
process of corruption or death." Admitted; but 
even this does not militate against our view. It is 
an important fact of God's plan that there must al- 
ways be death in order to new life. This teaches the 
important truth that man, as a carnal, sinful creat- 
ure, must die — the body of sin must be destroyed — 
in order that he may share in the life of Christ. 



NVMBEB THREE. 61 

Though all are in due time to be saved, yet none ary 
to be saved in sin. As the flour is raised be 
the killing process of leaven, so men are to be raised 
up into the life of Christ by the killing power of God's 
love and truth. Atonement, in the type, was by both 
blood and fire. — See Lev. xvi. Sacrifice is the only 
means of victory. 

But what of the three measures of meal? Some 
have thought that they refer to the three ages, Jew- 
ish, Gospel, and Millennial. But it was not three 
ages that were to be leavened; and the Woman to do 
the work was not in existence in the Jewish age. In- 
deed, the work of the Gospel age is not to leaven the 
meal, or convert the world, but only to prepare the 
Woman, — that is, the Church, "the bride, the Lamb's 
wife." Therefore the conclusion appears necessary 
that the whole work of this parable lies in the ages 
to come, after the marriage of the Lamb. This is 
surely in keeping with the plan of the ages. 

The meal to be leavened is the whole world of man- 
kind. And the Lord has brought them to view, as 
already shown, in three grand divisions, or measures, 
< — the three worlds. All that lived and died before 
the flood are the first measure of meal. They died un- 
leavened. Physical death is not the death that saves. 
It is death to sin which involves the raising power. 
All who have lived and died since the flood are the 
second measure of "meal. They have gone down in 
darkness, and, as a rule, without hope. The church, 
chosen out of the world, is the exception to that rule. 
And therefore they are not counted of the world — 
not of the meal. The nations of the future are the 
third and last measure of meal. 

In view of these facts, who cannot see that this 
parable gives a grand proof of the future salvation 
of the teeming multitudes of earth? Until the mar- 
riage of the Lamb, or until the woman is fully devel- 
oped and put in power, it is not God's plan to save 



62 MOSES AND CUEIST. 

the world. The energy of heaven has been mani- 
fested in the work of preparing her. But the woman, 
in the throne with Christ, will use her power to bring 
the gospel into the " three measures of meal, until 
the whole is leavened." What joy in the assurance 
of complete and universal victory! 

The doctrine of the restoration of the dead — the 
wicked dead, as they are usually called — is illustrat- 
ed in Ezekiel xvi. 44 to end, by the prophecy as to 
three nations, — Sodom, Samaria, and Israel. Sodom 
was dead — not even a remnant left, (Rom. ix. 29.) cut 
off, as the record declares, on account of her wicked- 
ness, — and, as an Apostle said, are " set forth as an 
example, (to those who would afterward live ungod- 
ly), suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." Let the 
Bible interpret itself, and eternal, as thus used, has 
a limit, because Ezekiel declares the restoration of 
the Sodomites. The revised version confirms it, show- 
ing that there is neither an if, nor any irony. "They 
shall return." " Eternal fire " is the fire of the ages, 
and is limited by the " times of the restoration of all 
things." — Acts iii. 21. 

This prophecy appears to represent the whole race. 
Israel is a type of the church. Samaria is a type of 
all the living nations, to be judged in the coming 
day. And Sodom represents all the dead. It is de- 
clared that they shall all be in a state of blessing 
and harmony. Christ (and the saints) shall judge 
the living and the dead at his appearing and king- 
dom; and the judgment shall be unto victory. "For 
this cause was the gospel preached also to the dead, 
that they might be judged according to [on the same 
principle as] men in the flesh, but live according to 
God in the spirit."—!. Pet. iv. 6. 

In view of all the facts as to the various uses of 
the number three in the Bible, and the evident full- 
ness of the Divine love and plan brought out in con- 
nection therewith, there seems to be a peculiar sig- 



NUMBER THREE. 63 

nificance in the last three we shall here mention: 
" Now abideth /##/*, hope, LOVE, these three; but 
the greatest of these is LOVE." — 1. Cor. xiii. 13. 
God is Love, and his purpose is to fill all hearts with 
love. Manifested through Christ it is the great con- 
quering and reconciling power, and hence is the 
mainspring of the Christian life. The apostle appre- 
ciated its intrinsic power and grand success when he 
said: " Love never faileth. " God's purpose must 
be carried out. When the conquering work is done, 
God shall be all in all; and when faith and hope shall 
have served their purpose, as means to the great 
end, — faith fulfilled in sight and hope in glad frui- 
tion, — then Love, in immortal youth and beauty, 
shall live on fore verm ore. 





MOSES AND SH^IST. 

— g$S 

CHAPTER X, 

THE BOW OF PROMISE. 

FTER the flood, << God blessed Noah and his 
sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and mul- 
tiply, and replenish the earth/'— Gen. ix. 1, 

^ And God made a covenant with Noah and his 
sons that there should be no more a flood to destroy 
mankind; and he said, u This is the token of the cov- 
enant which I make between me and you and every 
living creature that is with you, for perpetual gener- 
ations: I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be 
for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. 
And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over 
the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud; 
and I will remember my covenant, * * and the 
waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all 
flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will 
look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting 
covenant between God and every living creature of 
all flesh that is upon the earth, " — See verses 8 to 17. 

We here learn that the rainbow is " The token of 
God's promise," of his everlasting covenant; and 
that is a covenant of unfciling mercy, notwithstand- 
ing the sins of mankind. He said: " I will not again 
curse the ground for mar's sake, though the imagin- 
ation of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither 
will I again smite any more every thing living, as I 
have done before. "—Gen. viii, 21„ 

The skeptic may say: " It cannot be that a rainbow 
never appeared before the flood, as it is caused by 
the sun shining upon the falling rain, ' ' But how 
64 



THE BO W OF PROMISE. (jo 

does he know that it ever rained before ' ' the fount- 
ains of the great deep were broken up, " preceding 
and probably causing the long rain and the flood? 
Who knows what atmospheric and geologic changes 
then occurred? It is not our province to deal with 
such questions. But our claim is that the Bible rec- 
ord is unique and consistent with itself, and that it 
is full of allegories of the gospel plan. The latter 
will be most evident to those most familiar with the 
record and the plan. As to the former, the Bible 
gives no account of rain before the flood. In Gen. ii. 
6, it says: " There went up a mist from the earth and 
watered the whole face of the ground. " Who shall 
say that rains and storms and the terrible irregular- 
ities in the atmospheric conditions are either the pri- 
mary or the final condition of things? No doubt 
the discoveries of Science, properly so-called, will 
continue to confirm the Bible record. The voice of 
what men call Nature, the voice of the great facts 
and laws of the universe, is the voice of God. And 
revelation must be in perfect harmony with these 
facts and laws. 

After storm comes the sunshine; after war, peace. 
This is true in all ways. It will be a great blessing, 
to all who can apprehend it, to know that the storm 
is God's method of regulating the conditions of the 
air, and that war is his way of conquering a peace. 
We are too apt to regard as a curse, what is the di- 
vine method of healing the disease, or removing the 
curse. Whoever can see this will know that there is 
rich mercy even in the severest of God's judgments. 
They are the Lord's method of setting things right, 
or bringing them to perfection. Hence in the Bible, 
the lower, or imperfect, or evil, precedes the higher, 
or perfect. The Bible coupling puts the lower or 
imperfect things first. It does not say ' ' the morn- 
ing and the evening, ' ' but ' ' the evening and the 
(5) 



66 MOSJBS AND CUBIST. 

morning. " So it does not give us sin, darkness, and 
death as final states. These are all connected with 
the natural, animal or primary conditions. It is 
' ' First the natural, and afterward the spiritual." 
It is first darkness, then light. It is first sin, then 
righteousness. It is first death, then life. Light, 
righteousness, life and peace are the characteristics 
of the final state. 

Let it be repeated that the rainbow is the token or 
symbol of God's everlasting covenant of mercy. The 
flood, we have seen, was the type of the complete de- 
struction of sin and all the associated conditions of 
the Adamic, or natural man. So we read of the work 
of Christ, that he will " Make an end of sins, make 
reconciliation for iniquity, and bring in everlasting 
righteousness. "■ — Dan. ix. 24. The time and state be- 
fore the flood was " the old world," — the sin-cursed, 
the Adamic. — 2. Pet. ii. 5. The Adamic in each person 
must cease to be. "As in Adam [that is, in the natu- 
ral condition] all die, even so in Christ [that is, in the 
spiritual condition] shall all be made alive. " — 1. Cor. 
xv. 22. What is in brackets, above, will be proved 
true to all who read 1. Cor. xv. 45-49, and who can 
see that Paul puts Adam as the head and represent- 
ative of all the race on the natural plane, and Christ 
as the head and representative of all the race on the 
spiritual plane. 

Now, with these gospel facts in view, it becomes 
evident that Noah and all in the ark, of every grade, 
entering upon the new world, typified the world 
made alive in Christ. And the rainbow is the token 
of God's blessed assurance, that, when all are thus 
made alive in Christ, " There shall be no more death, 
neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be 
any more pain: for the former things are [shall have] 
passed away." — Rev. xxi. 4. 

The rainbow is caused by the refraction and re- 
flection of all the rays of light from the sun, shining 



THE BOW OF PROMISE. 67 

upon falling rain. The primary colors, developed 
by the use of a prism, in the analysis of the rays of 
sunlight, are seven, — red, orange, yellow, green, 
blue, indigo and violet. These colors all appear in 
the rainbow. Black and white are not in the list. 
Properly speaking, these two are not colors. Black 
is caused by the absence of all reflection of light, and 
white is caused by the reflection and blending of all 
the rays. 

God is Light, and, as revealed in Christ, is the 
Sun of Righteousness. Seven is a sacred number, 
representing fullness or completeness. The seven 
colors of the rainbow are therefore typical of the 
seven elements of Christian character, usually called 
the seven graces, which shine out in the character 
and life of Christ. Peter says we are to add these to 
faith: ''Virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, 
godliness, brotherly kindness and charity." — 2. Pet. 
i. 5-7. These are the elements of a perfect charac- 
ter. These, blended, make white — the wedding gar- 
ment, the ' ' line linen, clean and white, the right- 
eousness of the saints." — Rev. xix. 8. Inasmuch as 
these graces are to be added to faith, who can doubt 
that character, and not mere faith, or knowledge, 
constitutes the wedding garment, which the firstf ruits 
must wear in order to be ready to enter the marriage 
state at the coming of the Bridegroom? And inas- 
much as God has made the rainbow (with its seven 
colors, which, blended, make white) his token, his 
bow of promise, shall we not take it as one of his 
oaths, based upon the perfection and immutability of 
his own character, that he will not destroy men a 
second time? — that is, after redemption. Wicked 
men will indeed reap the reward of their evil-doings 
in that they shall utterly perish in their own cor- 
ruption, but we have the grand assurance that after 
sin and death have done their worst, the whole crea- 
tion shall be delivered from the bondage of corrup- 



68 MOSES AND CHRIST. 

tion into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 
Rom. viii. 21. 

The mighty Angel of Rev. x. — who declares the 
end of one dispensation in the bitterness of partial 
disappointment to some, but introduces a grander 
dispensation in which the church (represented by 
John, the revelator) " must prophesy again before 
many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings, " 
■ — has the rainbow — God's bow of promise — upon his 
head. This Angel is either Christ, or a great move- 
ment of which Christ is the head and front. Victory 
of the right is the watchword of such a movement. 
The bitterness of all disappointments is mollified or 
superseded by the glad assurance that the gospel 
message is not only to be carried to all, but that God 
has sworn by himself that all shall be blessed. 

Dear reader, can you see God's bow of promise? 
It is a pledge of a full and perfect gospel salvation 
for all mankind. Or do you, like too many in Chris- 
tendom, see only what may be compared to a "sec- 
ondary rainbow?" This is often seen near the "pri- 
mary rainbow;" but it is much fainter, and its colors 
are arranged in the reverse order to those of the rain- 
bow proper. Thus it is with much that passes cur- 
rent as the gospel of Christ in our day. However 
dim and faint it is, there is much good in it. It is 
Christ, the Sun of Righteousness, that gives them 
all the light they have; and it is the glory of the 
gospel of Christ that it does a great deal of good 
even when dimly shining. But, as in -the case of the 
" secondary rainbow, " it is a double reflection of the 
light that causes many teachers to put things back- 
ward. They say, " God will love you if you will be 
good;" " Christ died for you if you will believe it;" 
and ' ' He will give you eternal life if you will keep 
his commandments. " God's love, Christ's death, 
the gift of eternal life and the importance of being 
good and obedient, are all elements of the true light; 






THE BO W OF PROMISE. 09 

but the colors are put backward when man's good- 
ness and obedience are presented as the cause or con- 
dition of God's love, Christ's death, or the gift of 
eternal life. The Word plainly teaches that God 
loved us first, that Christ aied ior us while we were 
yet sinners, and that men must be made alive by the 
life-giving Spirit before they can be good and obedi- 
ent. The gospel facts are the cause of man's recon- 
ciliation and obedience, and not the effect of them. 

Oh! that we may all learn to see the true rainbow, 
God's bow of promise, with its colors in their proper 
order; and to rejoice fully and restfully in him whose 
love and death are unconditional and unlimited, and 
whose victory over sin and sinners will be absolute 
and universal. Nothing short of its certainty can 
give full assurance of salvation; and if salvation de- 
pends on the will and works of fickle and fallible man, 
it cannot be certain. But nothing short of full assur- 
ance of salvation can give perfect rest and peace, and 
not to have peace makes life a heavy burden. To rest 
in God, as our certain destiny, is, therefore, the 
grandest, surest, and best foundation of a Christian 
character. 




MOSES AND SH^IST. 




CHAPTER XI. 

ABRAHAM, ISAAC, AND REBEKAH 

T has been shown that the history of Adam and 
Eve as an allegory illustrates the plan of the 
c^ ages — the plan of salvation — in its general feat- 
ures. Adam the generator of the race is the 
type of Christ the Regenerator of the race. Eve the 
wife and mother foreshadows the Church of Christ 
as the wife and mother on the spiritual plane. The 
marriage of the first pair is the picture of the mar- 
riage of the Lamb. And the generation of mankind 
after the marriage represents the regeneration of all 
after the marriage of the Lamb. 

In this picture we see the plan of progression from 
the low T er to the higher — from the animal or natural 
plane to the spiritual or heavenly plane; the true po- 
sition and value of the second coming of Christ and 
the heavenly marriage; and that it is God's plan to 
save, or bring to the spiritual state, the Church first, 
and through them, made one with him in the power 
and glory of the heavenly state, to save or draw up 
the world afterward. 

The other pictures, considered in the preceding 
chapters, represent other parts or principles of the 
plan — no two types, prophecies or parables of the 
Bible being given to teach or illustrate precisely the 
same thing. Each has some feature peculiar to itself. 
But the allegory of Abraham, Isaac, and Rebekah, in 
their relation to each other and in their work, repre- 
sents the general outline of the plan more than any 
70 



ABRAHAM, ISAAC, AND BEBEKAB. 71 

other allegory except that of Adam and Eve. This 
seems appropriate, as it was at the opening of the 
age and light of promise. The light given to our first 
parents was not a promise, but w r as in the form of a 
threatening against the serpent. This implied the 
blessing of the people, and may therefore be called 
the gospel negatively stated. (Gen. iii. 15.) But the 
light given to Abraham was affirmative, in the form 
of the covenant or promise of God to bless all nations, 
kindreds, and families. (Gen. xii. 3; xviii. 18; xxii. 
18; Acts iii. 25 and Gal. iii. 8, 16-18.) 

But while this later allegory gives quite a connect- 
ed and general view of the plan, it lacks some of the 
features of the former pictures, and also gives some 
additional features. At least three important things, 
omitted in the others, are brought to view here; 
that is, the Fatherhood of God, represented by Abra- 
ham; the Spirit's work in calling the Church, repre- 
sented by Eliezer, the eldest servant, bringing Re- 
bekah; and the coming of Christ to meet the Church 
on the way, represented by Isaac coming out to meet 
Rebekah, and escorting her into his mother's tent. 

Evidently, Abraham, the "Father of many na- 
tions," as his name indicates, and also the " Father 
of the faithful," (See Gen. xvii. 4 and Rom. iv. 11,) 
in this allegory represents God, the Father of all, 
and the Father of the faithful in the highest sense. 
We are told that " Abraham had tw T o sons, the one 
by a bondmaid [Agar], and the other by a free woman" 
[Sarah]. — Gal. iv. 22. The Apostle then goes on to 
explain that these two women represent God's two 
covenants — the first mother and son answering to the 
earthly, the natural, the bond Jerusalem and her 
children, and the second mother and son answering 
to the heavenly, the spiritual, the free Jerusalem and 
her children. In this allegory (Verse 24) we see God's 
plan of sonship in its two phases, the generation and 
the regeneration, as embodied in Adam and Christ — 



72 MOSES AND CHBIST. 

" First the natural [animal], and afterward the spir- 
itual;" and as all the sons by regeneration are first 
natural sons, this whole plan applies to each individ- 
ual as well as to two classes or nations. The natural 
will never be made spiritual, but the man, each in 
his turn, or " in his own order," passes from the nat- 
ural state to the spiritual state, by God's method of 
death and resurrection, brought to light in the per- 
son and work of Christ. 

As Abraham is the father and Sarah the mother, 
and the tivo are one; and as Abraham represents God, 
and Sarah represents the heavenly or New Jerusalem 
covenant, (Verses 22-26), it follows that the spirit of 
both the Father and Mother are one in God. Adam 
and Eve were created two in one, and it took both to 
be an image of God. We may bless God for the 
strength and glory of man, and for the love and (may 
we not say?) the greater glory of woman. And we 
may well rejoice that both of these are one in the in- 
finite Spirit, for the glorious purpose of spiritual 
generation. 

The spiritual idea is suggested by the change of 
the names from Abram to Abraham, and from Sarai 
to Sarah — the breathing sound of the letter " h " rep- 
resenting the addition of the Holy Spirit. Then, the 
nations being blessed in Abraham means being 
blessed in God, who is a Spirit; and it therefore se- 
cures not mere earthly life and blessings, as some 
suppose, but includes "the promise of the Spirit," 
(and therefore all spiritual blessings.) — Gal. iii. 14. 
Who can doubt that Abraham represented God the 
Father, and Sarah, his Covenant of regeneration? 

Isaac the Type of Christ. 

As Isaac was the only begotten son of Abraham 
by his wife Sarah; so Jesus is the only begotten Son 
of God, by the heavenly system or mother Covenant, 
(represented on earth by the virgin Mary). — John iii. 



ISAAC THE TYPE OF CUBIST. 73 

16. Both Isaac and Christ were children of promise 
and miraculously produced. — Gen. xviii. 9-14 and 
Matt. i. 20. Isaac, the promised seed, was the per- 
sonal type of Jesus Christ, — Gal. iii. 16. But as IsaajC, 
the seed, represented all who sprang from him; so 
Christ, as the Seed, represented all who spring from 
him. So Christ not only was, but always will be "the 
only begotten Son," on the spiritual plane, (all oth- 
ers being begotten in him,) as truly as Isaac will al- 
ways be the only begotten son of Abraham (by Sarah) 
on the plane of the flesh. 

Christians generally admit that Isaac was a type of 
Christ, or that the natural seed was a type of the 
spiritual seed, and this is the New Testament, Spirit- 
inspired, key to our application. Oh! that all Chris- 
tians might see that as Isaac was not the real or spir- 
itual seed of promise, but only a type of the real, so 
Israel on the plane of the flesh, and the promises to 
them, including Canaan, the land of their inheritance, 
were not the real Israel and the real inheritance, but 
only types or earthly shadows or illustrations ox the 
real Israel and the promised inheritance. As the 
seed in Isaac was earthly, so the inheritance was 
earthly. And as the seed in Christ is heavenly, so 
their inheritance is heavenly. Paul shows us that 
Abraham had at least a glimpse of this, for he looked 
beyond the type, for "a better country, that is, an 
heavenly," (Heb. xi. 16) 5 and "Looked for a city 
which hath foundations, [which man could not build, 
but] whose builder and maker is God." — Verse 10. 
Failing to see the spiritual significance of these prom- 
ises is the apparent weakness of many Adventists, 
Millenarians and others. May the Lord enable us 
all to see through the type to what it represents. 

Abraham offered his son Isaac a typical sacrifice, 
and on the journey to Mount Moriah he was until the 
third day under the dominion of death. — Gen. xxii. 4. 
So God gave his Son Jesus up to death, and until the 



74 MOSES AND CHBIST. 

third day he was under its power. Abraham saw the 
resurrection by faith, believing that God was able to 
raise Isaac up, and so received him from the dead 
" in figure," that is, in type. — Heb. xi. 19. Jesus act- 
ually rose the third day. The three days may also 
be applied as thousand year days in the experience 
of Israel in the flesh and of the Church. The Jewish 
nation was cut off in a national death at the first ad- 
vent, and is to be restored in the third thousand from 
that time, or in the seventh thousand from Adam. 
With this in view, what force and beauty in Hosea 
vi. 1, 2: " Come, and let us return unto the Lord, for 
he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, 
and he will bind us up. After tivo days will he revive 
us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall 
live in his sight. ' ' 

The same principle applies to the Church, — the 
saints who are baptized into death all through the 
first gospel age. They have the promise of the 
" morning star," (Rev. ii. 28); which implies that 
they shall rise very early in the morning of the third 
day — thousand year day — and reign with Christ. 
These facts in reference to Israel — both natural and 
spiritual — doubtless show why Jesus rose the third 
day, why Isaac was that length of time under the do- 
minion of death [in figure], and why Jonah was three 
days and three nights in the deep. Thus only can it 
be that Jesus ' ' rose the third day according to the 
Scriptures." And his rising the third day is "gospel" 
because it indicates the plan, as above. — 1. Cor. xv. 
1-4. 

Rebekah the Type of the Church. 

The next important event after the resurrection, 
both in figure and reality, is getting the Son a wife. 
Neither Isaac nor Christ finds his own wife. It will 
be understood that in the type the whole affair is nat- 
ural and on a small scale, but that in the antitype it 



REBEKAH THE TYPE OF THE CHURCH. 75 

is spiritual and on a grand scale, and covers a long 
period of time — the first gospel age. The true Church 
of Christ is, when married, to be "the bride, the 
Lamb's wife," — many in one; and Rebekah became 
Isaac's wife. In the antitype, the Holy Spirit is sent 
from the Father in Christ's name, (John xiv. 26), to 
act for him in calling the Church and bringing her to 
Christ; and in the type, Eliezer, Abraham's "eldest 
servant, ' ' stands in the same relation as the Spirit 
to Christ and the Church, in bringing Rebekah to 
Isaac. — See Gen. xxiv. The woman in neither case 
seeks the man, but in both cases she, through the 
agent, is found, wooed, and won. 

This is where election is made prominent in the Bi- 
ble plan — in obtaining a wife for Christ. The uncon- 
verted person from the nature of the case cannot be 
the first mover. ' ' No man, ' ' says Jesus, ' ' can come 
to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw 
him." — John vi. 44. " Knowing, brethren beloved, 
your election of God." — 1. Thess. i. 4. But yet the 
acceptance of the gospel invitation is voluntary. The 
same was true in the type. Abraham sent the invi- 
tation by Eliezer to Rebekah, and he said to the serv- 
ant: " And if the woman will not be willing to follow 
thee, then thou shalt be free from this my oath; only 
bring not my son thither again." — Gen. xxiv. 8. 

It is interesting to read the account, in Gen. xxiv. , 
of the servant's journey into the land of Mesopotamia, 
to the city of Nahor, to the home of distant relatives 
of Isaac, and to observe the servant's method of prep- 
aration for his work according to the simple and prim- 
itive customs of the people. Eliezer met Rebekah, 
the virgin, pure and very fair (verse 16), at the well, 
where she had come to draw water; and gave her out 
of his master's treasures an " ear-ring," (or rather, 
according to the marginal reading, a " jewel for the 
forehead,") and "two bracelets for her hands." — 
Verse 22. These were the earnest, or first-fruits, of 



76 MOSES AND CHBIST. 

what she would receive as the future wife of Isaac. 

This is a beautiful type of the Holy Spirit meeting 
the virgin Church on the day of Pentecost, (she hav- 
ing come to draw the promised water of life), and of 
his giving her the foretaste or ' ' earnest ' ' of her in- 
heritance as the future bride of, and, therefore, 
"joint-heir with Christ.' ' — Eph. i. 13, 14 and Rom. 
viii. 14-17. Both head and hands were adorned in 
the type. So the gift of the Spirit adorns both head 
and hands, and consecrates them to know the Lord's 
will and to do his work 

Think of the inducement held out to Rebekah. 
Abraham is rich in " flocks, herds, silver, gold, men- 
servants, maid-servants, camels, and asses;" Isaac 
is his only son, (by Sarah), "and unto him hath he 
given all that he hath/' — Ver. 36. By becoming 
Isaac's wife all would become hers. So in the anti- 
type. God has infinite treasures, and, says Jesus, 
" All things that the Father hath are mine ! ' And 
the Spirit takes of the things of Christ and shows 
them to the Church, (John xvi. 13-15.); and, by the 
Apostle, says to the Church: ' ' All things are yours, ' ' 
(1. Cor. iii. 21-23); and "If children, then heirs; heirs 
of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.'' — Rom. viii. 17. 
These are among the inducements to leave the world, 
not merely to be saved, but to be joined to Christ as 
his wife and to share in the glory of his home and 
triumphant reign. Blessed election, and gracious 
indeed in its results, not only on the bride, but on 
all others ! 

The urgency of the Spirit's work, in dealing with 
the hearts of the awakened and called ones, is illus- 
trated by the servant's faithfulness. He said, "I 
will not eat until I have told mind errand. ' ' — Verse 
33. He would not be satisfied until he had obtained 
the full consent. That given, "The servant 
brought forth jewels of silver, jewels of gold, and 
raiment, and gave to Rebekah." — Verse 53. She 



REBEKAH THE TYPE OF THE CHUBCH. 77 

needed nothing of her own; she was clothed and en- 
riched from the stores of Abraham. 

So in the antitype. The virgin Church needs noth- 
ing of her own, that is, of her old conditions, but 
under the Spirit's leading, she finds very precious, 

and still more precious jewels of truth, and the wed- 
ding garment of holiness, " Without which no man 
shall see the Lord." — John xvi 13 and Heb. xii. 14. 
The Apostle says: " Ye are complete in him;" and 
he ''is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and 
sanctification, and redemption: that according as it 
is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the 
Lord."— Col. ii. 10 and 1. Cor. i. 30, 31. His right- 
eousness becomes hers, in outward manifestation, by 
the inward operation of the Holy Spirit, so that at 
the marriage it is said of her: "'To her was granted 
that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and 
white : for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. ' ' 
Rev. xix. 8. How similar the type and antitype, and 
yet how much grander is the spiritual than the nat- 
ural! 

After the engagement, ' ' They did eat and drink 
* * and tarried all night." — Verse 54. During 
that night Rebekah entertained Eliezer and the other 
servants as guests. So during the gospel age the 
Spirit is the Guest of the Church, (John xiv; 16, 17.) 
and the angels (represented by the other servants) 
are assistants, as "ministering spirits "to the " heirs 
of salvation." — Heb. i. 14. 

The night of waiting at last ended, and in the morn- 
ing Rebekah was conducted away to meet her future 
husband. So the Church has had a long dark night 
of waiting for the day dawn (Rom. xiii. 12 and 2. 
Pet. i. 19) and for the Lord, her absent loved One, 
her coming Bridegroom (Matt. xxv. 1-10 and 1. 
Thess, i. 10); and then, " very early in the morning," 
of the Millennial day, she is caught away to meet the 



78 MOSES AND CHRIST. 

Lord , and to be with him forever in his glory. — - 
1. Thess. iv. 17. 

But an important decision must be made by the 
prospective bride. There are inducements both to 
go and to stay, and she must decide. Friends, home 
and all the old associates would hinder, and hold her 
back (verse 55), and it was referred to the damseL 
Her friends said to her, "Wilt thou go with this 
man?" This was the critical moment: all her home 
friends and early associations on the one hand; and, 
on the other, leaving them all to be the wife of him 
she had never seen. How could she decide to make 
such an exchange? It was the knowledge of the 
truth that controlled her mind and led to her decis- 
ion. She had heard of Isaac; she had substantial 
evidence of his honor and wealth; and though not 
having seen him, she loved him, (Faith works by love), 
and hence she answered: " I will go. " — Vs. 56-58. 

So earth, friends, material success and the enjoy- 
ment of earthly associations would hold the Church 
back. These things, many of them lawful in them- 
selves, must be laid on the altar and sacrificed by 
those who would be wholly the Lord's. To live for 
earth and self is most natural. How can she decide 
otherwise? Why should she devote her life and 
energies to Christ and the good of others? She has 
never seen Christ. Ah! it is the knowledge of the 
truth that controls her, and leads to her voluntary 
choice, and cheerful self-sacrifice. (And it may be 
safely said that it is the want of this knowledge that 
makes so many, who even profess to be Christians, 
lean toward and cling to the world, and to have no 
interest in the blessed hope). She has heard of him. 
She has satisfactory evidence of his wealth, his pow- 
er, and his love. He has spoken to her inmost heart, 
by the Spirit, who has revealed his heart to her, and, 
though absent and unseen, she loves him (1. Pet. i. 8), 
and therefore when all else is put against him, her 



THE MEETING OF ISAAC AND BEBEKAH. 79 

decision is like Rebekah 1 s: " I will go." The virgin 
Church is willing to leave all the world for Christ, 
and when the great truths of his love and plan are 
known, who would refuse his gracious invitation? 

The Meeting of Isaac and Rebekah. 

Rebekah went out by faith, under the leadership 
of Eliezer, and he brought her to Isaac; but Isaac 
came out to meet her on the way. " And he lifted 
up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were 
coming. And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when 
she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel." — Vs. 63, 
64. He was waiting and longing for her, and she was 
looking for him. What an interesting and joyous 
meeting! Isaac escorted her into his mother's tent, 
and she became his wife; and he loved her. — Ver. 67. 

Let it be specially observed that Isaac did not come 
all the way to take Rebekah home with him, much less 
to remain at her old home with her; neither did she 
go all the ivay to meet him; neither when they met 
did she escort him back to her old home; but they 
met in the open field, and she went in with him to 
her new home in the place prepared for her. All 
these facts are specially interesting as illustrating 
the truth concerning the second advent, the meeting 
of Christ and the Church, the marriage of the Lamb, 
and the future home of Christ and his Bride. 

If there be any truth in the general application, 
and any force in the illustration, (and who can doubt 
it?)then it is the Holy Spirit's work to bring the 
Church up to the condition of Christ, and to the place 
of their meeting. Christ does not come to earth nor 
earthly conditions to live with his Bride, as many 
think. Neither does he come to earth to take her to 
his home in the heavens as others teach. Neither 
does the Holy Spirit bring the Church to the third 
heaven to be with Christ as still others teach. And 
we may be sure that it has not been his plan that 



80 MOSES AND CHRIST. 

each one who died before or during the gospel age 
should go to heaven at death. If such had been the 
case, there would have been no need of a second com- 
ing of Christ to meet the Church. To claim that his 
second coming is at death, involves in the absurdity 
that he comes the second time a great many times, 
and that he often came the second time even before 
he came the^rs^ time. 

There are some who see this that do not see the 
fallacy of other positions. If Christ came all the way 
to stay, then the Church would not have to go at all. 
If he came all the way to take her away, still she 
could not be caught up to meet him. If the Church 
went all the way to meet him, it would exclude his 
coming entirely. But the truth seems very simple: 
he comes part way, and she goes part way, under the 
leadership of the Spirit, and they meet "in the air," 
— the expression used to illustrate or typify the mid- 
dle heaven, — the middle place or condition of the 
heavenly tabernacle. " Who shall ascend into the 
hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy 
place?"— Ps. xxiv. 3. (See (i Coming of Christ," in 
Day Dawn.) Whatever may be the need of, or the 
reason for, his coming to the middle apartment, it is 
evident that he himself conducts the Church into the 
heavenly mansions, or the prepared place. — John 
xiv. 1-3 and 1. Thess. iv. 17. 

The question has been asked: " What is meant by 
Rebekah putting on the vail, when she met Isaac?" 
It was doubtless, primarily, an act of modesty, and in 
conformity to a custom of that day. But inasmuch as 
the vail in Scripture is used to represent the flesh 
(See Heb. x. 20), and as while we are in the flesh (that 
is, as thus used, the natural body) we must walk by 
faith (2. Cor. v. 6-8), it is suggested that her having 
on the vail, when she first met Isaac in the field, may 
represent the fact that the presence of Christ must 
first be recognized, not by sight of mortal eye, (see- 



hebekah tee WIFE AMD MOTH Ell. Si 

ing he is not in the flesh), but by faith. The vail, 
representing our natural condition, is still between 
us and the actual sight of our Lord, though there are 
prophecies indicating that the ena of the gospel age 
has come, and that his presence is therefore due. 
This being so, there is nothing but the ' ' twinkling- 
of-an-eye " change between us and seeing Christ face 
to face. If the following passage in Peter's epistle 
has been true and applicable ail through the night of 
waiting, how much more emphatic it becomes in our 
present attitude: " Whom having not seen [except by 
the eye of the understanding or of faith] we love, in 
whom though now we see him not [with the natural 
eye], yet believing, we rejoice with joy unspeakable 
and full of glory. " 

Rehekah the Wife and Mother. 

Rebekah, the called and chosen virgin (Verse 16), 
represented the Church as a " chaste virgin " es- 
poused to Christ, (2. Cor. xi. 2), that is, the Church 
in the present life, the first gospel age, before the 
second coming of Christ and the marriage; and Re- 
bekah as wife and mother represented the Church in 
her glorious position and work after the marriage of 
the Lamb — she being, when married, " the Bride, the 
Lamb's wife." — Rev. xxi. 9. She is there brought 
to view under the figure of a City, the holy or New 
Jerusalem, even as the corrupt, apostate, counterfeit 
Church of the book of Revelation and of history is 
brought to view as a city, — " Babylon, the mother of 
harlots and abominations of the earth." — Rev. xvii. 
5. The counterfeit has not only been united to the 
kings of the earth, but is recognized both in proph- 
ecy and history as a "Mother Church." Then we 
need not be surprised if the true Church is both Wife 
and Mother. 

Taking Rebekah into the mother's tent (verse 67) 
(6) 



82 MOSES AND CUBIST. 

prefigures the exaltation of the Church to the New 
Jerusalem or "Mother "state and position in God's 
kingdom. That position was typically held by Sarah, 
■ — " the free woman" — Isaac's mother, as long as she 
lived. Paul explains that Sarah in the allegory rep- 
resents the second or New Covenant, the free Jerusa- 
lem, which is above, and " which is the mother of us 
all. "—Gal. iv. 22-26. This evidently refers to the 
Church. Sarah was Rebekah's mother because she 
was Isaac's mother — that is, in the sense that the 
marriage made Isaac and Rebekah one. So Jerusa- 
lem above, represented by Sarah, is our mother, the 
mother of the Church, because it is the mother of 
Christ, the antitype of Isaac. Our union with Christ 
secures this, and hence Paul says, " Now we, breth- 
ren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise." — ■ 
Gal. iv. 28. Being baptized into Christ, all that is 
his becomes ours. The position of Sarah, the moth- 
er, falls to Rebekah, the daughter; and so the Church 
as the daughter of the Jerusalem above, by union 
with Christ the Son, is exalted to the New Jerusalem 
state (or tent) and becomes the mother of the future 
generations, that is, in the regeneration. 

This fact is typically put into the w^ords of Rebek- 
ah's friends: " And they blessed Rebekah, and said 
unto her, - * * Be thou the mother of thousands of 
millions." — Verse 60. Whoever can apply this spir- 
itually to the future work of the Church, as the Bride 
of Christ, blessing and regenerating the nations, will 
have a glimpse of the greatness of God's plan of 
salvation. 

Some see that the Church is to be Christ's Bride, 
and yet think the whole plan of salvation ends at the 
marriage. God help them to see that the marriage 
is preparatory to the regeneration of the race, and 
not to their destruction. Offspring properly follow 
marriage. 

There are some who admit the general truth of our 



SEBEKAH THE WIFE ANV MOTllEll. 83 

application of this allegory, and believe that the plan 
of salvation will go on after the marriage, but deny 
the motherhood of the church, as represented by Eve 
and Rebekah. They allow that the Church will be 
Christ's wife, and that she will reign with him; but 
she must not be a mother! ! And why not? Because 
of a preconceived notion or theory, held by them, 
that the nations saved after the marriage will never 
have the same nature as Christ and the Church. They 
seem to see that the very idea of father and mother 
is that of imparting their nature to their offspring. 
It might help them on to the larger and more spirit- 
ual hope, could they but see the truth that the very 
thought and meaning of husband and wife carry the 
mind forward to the idea and hope of offspring, and 
that the offspring are the only positive proof of mar- 
riage. 

The objection to our view, of all in due time hav- 
ing the spiritual nature, would lose much of its force, 
were it seen that beings of the same nature, may 
greatly differ in their position, and in degree of glory. 
We do not ignore the gradation in the future life. 
Paul says they will be as the sun, moon, and stars 
(1. Cor xv. 41), — all heavenly, and yet differing in 
their glory and shining power. The first fruits, the 
overcomers of this age, are to shine forth as the sun. 
Matt. xiii. 43. 

As generation is the legitimate result of marriage, 
and the highest earthly ;,*lory of the married pair 
consists in the impartation of -their life and nature to 
offspring; and as it is God's plan to represent the 
great spiritual facts of his kingdom by natural things; 
we may safely conclude that the impartation to the 
nations of the spiritual nature of Christ and the 
Church will be the necessary consequence and glory 
of the marriage of the Lamb. And to this all the 
teachings of the gospel in type, in prophecy, and in 
fact, agree. The same water of life which Christ 



84 MOSfiS AND CHRIST. 

promises to the believer in the gospel age, as a well 
of water, (John iv. 14), after the marriage flows as a 
river, and the Bride (with the Spirit) extends the 
invitation to all to come and drink. — Rev. xxii. 17. 
Then the plan of salvation must reach beyond the 
marriage; as till then there is no Bride. And as 
the water produces a spiritual result now, it will pro- 
duce the same result then. Let us all be glad and 
rejoice in the fullness and glory of God's unlimited 
plan of salvation for mankind. 





MOSES AND eHf}IST, 

&g 

CHAPTER XII. 

ABRAHAM'S SEVEN SONS. 

FTER the death of Sarah, Isaac's mother, (who 
was succeeded by Rebekah in the line of de- 
scent toward Christ), Abraham took another 
^ wife, Keturah, and she bore him six sons. — 
Gen. xxv. J, 2. These six and Isaac w^ere all born 
after Abraham, as to the natural law of generation, 
was " as good as dead." — Heb. xi. 12. The apostle 
tells us that Isaac was by promise, and did not come 
by the natural order. He was therefore a child of 
faith, w T hich is of the Spirit, and not of the flesh. 
That faith was counted to Abraham for righteous- 
ness. All righteousness is by the spiritual princi- 
ple, not by the natural, nor by the law, for the prom- 
ise to Abraham was four hundred and thirty years 
before the law. — Gal. iii. 17. And a little later, 
though Sarah ■" w T as past age," (Heb. xi. 11), and 
Abraham " as good as dead," " He staggered not at 
the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong 
in faith, giving glory to God ; and being fully per- 
suaded that, what he had promised, he was able also 
to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him 
for righteousness. " — Rom. iv. 18-22. 

A great principle is involved in the statement : — 
' ' Against hope he believed in hope." How T ever out 
of harmony with the lower order of things, because 
God had promised it, he believed it w T ould be done. 
Abraham's faith was tested both at the birth and the 
typical sacrifice of Isaac; and the important princi- 

85 



86 MOSES AND CHRIST. 

pie was illustrated, that spiritual things do not come 
by the natural. They are attained by the death of 
the natural, "the crucifixion of the flesh — the old 
man — with the affections and lusts," (Rom. vi. 6 and 
Gal. v. 24), and through regeneration. 

Now, if Isaac vras not of the natural order, because 
of his father's age and condition, as stated by the 
apostle, but by his mysterious begetting was typi- 
cally a spiritual son — a type of Christ, — does it not 
follow that the six sons of Abraham, born after 
Isaac, must have been by the same law of the Spirit? 
Why did Abraham have seven sons after the natural 
was " as good as dead? ' We have seen that seven 
is a sacred number representing fullness or com- 
pleteness. Then does not this seven seem to lore- 
shadow the spiritual regeneration of all the nations 
by the same law of life that develops Christ and the 
Church? This harmonizes with other Scriptures 
which show that God — represented by Abraham — is 
the Father of all, and that he will finally succeed in 
reconciling and regenerating them all. 

Ishmael, born before Isaac, was the natural son of 
Abraham, by Hagar, the bond-servant, and Paul, in 
Galatians iv. , shows that this mother and son in alle- 
gory represented the earthly Jerusalem and her chil- 
dren in bondage ; and therefore the later-born sons 
of Abraham were not needed to represent the natu- 
ral. 

Let no one think that the claim that all are des 
tined to become spiritual by judgment and regenera- 
tion, ignores the variety and gradation in the heav- 
enly state. Those who, by being governed by the 
law of the Spirit now, become members of the royal 
priesthood, will always have the pre-eminence. They 
shall shine forth as the Sun, in the kingdom of their 
Father, but the later-ripened will shine with the les- 
ser light of the moon and the stars. — Compare Matt, 
xiii. 43 and 1. Cor. xv. 41, 42. But while seeing this 



ABRAHAM'S SEVEN SONS. 87 

gradation among those made alive in Christ (1. Cor. 
xv. 22), we may rejoice in the assurance that the sun, 
moon, and stars are all heavenly bodies. The natu- 
ral or fleshly body belongs to the realm of the seen 
and temporal, but the spiritual or heavenly body to 
the unseen and eternal.— 2. Cor. iv. 18. Then we 
may safely hold that there will be no endless life for 
any person on the fleshly or earthly plane. Endless 
earthly conditions, indicated by many prophecies 
require a continual succession of generations. — See 
Perfect Day. 




MOSES AND SH^IST. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

m JACOB AND ESAU. 

YYX HE next apparent picture of an important ele- 
^X\ ment of God's plan is in the life of Isaac's two 

£} sons, Jacob and Esau. The record of their 

^° birth, natural qualities, manner of life, and 
their bargain about the birthright, is found in Gene 
sis xxv. 19-34, which please read. 

They were twins, and Esau was the firstborn; but 
for a mess of pottage, Esau sold the birthright to 
Jacob ; and thus, by a peculiar deal with each other, 
the word of the Lord was fulfilled : ' * The elder shall 
serve the younger. ' ' This allegory illustrates an 
important principle in the plan, often expressed by 
our Lord : * ' The first shall be last, and the last first. ' ' 

It is common in the Word for things to be brought 
forth and contrasted in pairs. The relation of the 
two great principles in God's plan — the natural and 
the spiritual — is thus illustrated. The natural is first 
and has the birthright. But, in God's order, it must 
give way to the younger, the spiritual ; and the nat- 
ural serves. It has an important part to perform, as 
the chaff to the wheat, or as the garden in which the 
spiritual grows. The lower must precede and serve 
the higher. And as people pass through the process 
of regeneration, the natural things, which had been 
first in use and appreciation, become secondary, and 
the spiritual things take the highest place in the 
mind and affections. The spiritual mind chooses the 
spiritual things and rejects the natural. 
88 



JACOB AND ESAU. 89 

In the light of this principle we have help to a 
reasonable solution of the subject of election, as 
mentioned by Paul in Romans ix. 11-16 : "For the 
children being not yet born, neither having done any 
good or evil, that the purpose of God according to 
election might stand, not of works, but of him that 
calleth ;— it was said to her, The elder shall serve 
the younger. As it is written, Jacob [type of the 
spiritual] have I loved, but Esau [type of the natu- 
ral] have I hated." 

Love and hate, like heat and cold, are comparative 
terms ; hence hate means to love less. But we need 
not think it was Jacob and Esau, as persons, that 
the Lord loved and hated ; much less need we think 
that Jacob was elected to be eternally saved, and 
that Esau was left to be hopelessly lost, as so many 
have been taught. According to the allegorical prin- 
ciple, the things loved and hated, or chosen and re- 
jected, were the spiritual and the natural wiiich Ja- 
cob and Esau represented. The natural or animal 
man is the vessel of wrath fitted to destruction, after 
he has served his purpose, and the spiritual man is 
the vessel of mercy before prepared unto glory. 

Though persons are chosen to represent these tw T o 
principles, and in the picture such persons are de- 
stroyed, we need not think of them as hopelessly ex- 
cluded from the spiritual and endless life. Esau and 
Pharaoh are examples. They died in Adam, and 
when they are made alive in Christ, (1. Cor. xv. 22), 
the spiritual Man, they will rejoice that in the earth- 
life the Lord used them to represent so important an 
element in the divine plan of salvation for all. 

It should be observed here that even Jacob was 
not the true elect, but only the type of God's elect — 
the Lord Jesus, and the Church chosen in him, and 
fitted by his Spirit for his work of royal priesthood. 
In reality, Jacob was as natural as Esau, and unless 
he became personally spiritual in the past, he will 



90 MOSES AND CHBIST. 

need to be regenerated in the future as well as Esau. 
This is none the less true because those two men 
were chosen to represent the opposite principles. 

The election of the royal priesthood, through faith 
and the seven added graces (2. Pet. i. 5-11), is not 
merely unto salvation, for only Christians, or those 
already in a saved state, are candidates for this high 
calling, or called upon to make their calling and 
election sure ; but the election of the few is for the 
glorious purpose of blessing the many — all. If we 
would be associated with God's elect principle and 
royal priesthood, the firstfruits in the spiritual state, 
we must be diligent to add to our faith the seven 
Christian graces. God chooses to the high honor of 
priesthood only those who choose his elect principle 
and prove faithful unto death. ' ' Many are called 
but few are chosen. " ' ' They that are with him are 
called, and chosen, and faithful." "Let no man 
take thy crown. " 

Again, we have in Jacob and Esau an illustration 
of the relation to each other of the Jewish and Gos- 
pel Churches. Here the natural and the spiritual are 
brought to view dispensationally. As the Jewish 
Church was itself a type or pattern of the Gospel 
Church, — the former being on the natural plane, and 
the latter on the spiritual plane, — this is a case in 
which Esau is a type of a type, — a personal type of 
a national type, — and Jacob, in his fleshly descend- 
ants, the nation of Israel, is a national type of the 
Gospel Church. In other wT>rds, Esau and his off- 
spring represented the nation of Israel in the flesh ; 
and Jacob and his descendants — Israel in the flesh — 
represented the true Church, the antitypical Israel of 
God, the overcomers, — as Israel means one that 
overcomes. 

It would be well for those entertaining an earthly 
hope for the Church, could they see that as the na- 
tion of Israel is but a type of the real Israel of God, 



JACOB AND ESATJ. 91 

so the land or inheritance of the typical Israel is not 
the Christian's inheritance, but only a type of it. 
The two are related to each other as the natural and 
the spiritual, the earthly and the heavenly. Abraham 
had a glimpse by faith of ' ' the better country, ' ' and 
of the heavenly city, which the Lord builds, not man. 
Heb. xi. 10, 16. We are to look up, not down. As 
"the earnest of our inheritance," (Eph. i. 13, 14), is 
spiritual, the inheritance itself must be spiritual. 

The two children — Jacob and Esau — were called 
two nations. — Gen. xxv. 23. The two Churches are 
each called ' ' a holy nation. ' ' And as the elder serves 
the younger, as the natural serves the spiritual, so 
the Jewish Church serves the Gospel Church. Out 
of the former the nucleus of the latter came. The 
mass of the earthly nation rejected the Lord when 
he came, but " as many as received him, to them 
gave he power to become the sons of God. ' ' — John i. 
11, 12. As Christ on the earthly side came of Jacob, 
and the first Christian Church came of Israel, well 
could Jesus say : ■* Salvation is of the Jews. " And 
in the future ages, as the Church will be with Christ 
in the heavenly, and will use Israel as her earthly 
hand-maid, the elder will be serving the younger still. 

Many have seen that there was a lapping of the 
ages at the first advent of Christ — the Gospel dispen- 
sation beginning before the Jewish dispensation end- 
ed. Probably this and more was indicated by the 
fact that Jacob's "hand took hold on Esau's heel. " 

As Jacob supplanted Esau, on account of Esau's 
failure, and despising the birthright, so the Gospel 
Church supplants the Jewish Church, taking the 
birthright, and its blessing, leaving only ' ' a mess of 
pottage, " and a lower blessing, to the Jewish Church. 
The birthright includes the ruling power, the super- 
visorship, of the whole family for their good. And 
Jesus, speaking of the change to come on the Jewish 
nation because of their rejection of the Messiah, said: 



92 MOSES AND CHB1ST. 

' ' The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and 
given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. ' ' 
Matt. xxi. 43. That other nation is the Gospel 
Church. 

Judging from the reference to Esau, in Hebrews 
xii. 15-17, these two brothers evidently represented, 
also, two classes in the Church of Christ. That there 
will be least and greatest in the kingdom of God, is 
shown by our Lord himself, in Matthew v. 19. Paul 
speaks of the Church as composed of " babes," and 
those " of full age." — Heb. v. 11-14. He slso speaks 
of these two classes in the Church as "carnal " and 
" spiritual." — 1. Cor. iii. 1. Of course, an absolutely 
carnal, or natural, man is not of the Church at all, 
but of the world ; but Paul is here speaking of the 
different grades in the Christian life. He speaks of 
the Corinthians as " brethren, " and yet, because they 
were not far removed from the worldly condition, he 
calls them " carnal : ' "And I, brethren, could not 
speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, 
[natural, fleshly], even as unto babes in Christ."* The 
sect or party spirit, divisions and human names, he 
gives as evidence of their being in that low state. If 
that was true then, it must be so now. 

In the same chapter, Paul speaks of these two 
classes of Christians under the figure of builders. 
Both are on the true Foundation, Christ Jesus, but 
their works differ. One is saved, and rewarded for 
his good works ; the other suffers loss, his w r orks be- 
ing burned, but he himself shall be saved, yet so as 
by fire. The sect spirit is among the things to be 
burned. 

Strictly speaking, both " the little flock, " and " the 
great multitude," are parts of the Church, both now 
and in the future or New Jerusalem state. The kings 
and priests will not be the whole City or Church, — 
"the bride, the Lamb's wife," — but those in the 
throne ruling with Christ ; and the great multitude, 



JACOB AND ESAU. 93 

also in the City, occupy a place before the throne, 
and serve. — Rev. vii. 9-15. All in the City have 
white robes, but only those in the throne are said to 
be crowned. The great multitude are said to have 
washed their robes and made them white. But, had 
they not defiled their robes, they would not have 
needed washing, for when the Lord receives the re- 
penting sinner into the family, He covers him w^ith a 
clean robe. And the Christian's duty and privilege 
is to keep his garments unspotted from the world. 
In the passage in Hebrews xii., the apostle exhorts 
believers thus : "Looking diligently lest any man 
fall from the grace of God [not from divine sonship, 
but from the grace, or favor, that belongs to the 
faithful in the family] ; lest any root of bitterness 
springing up trouble you, and thereby many be de- 
filed." Here are those whose robes must be washed, 
and from the following it appears that these defiled 
ones are represented by Esau. ' ' Lest there be any 
fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one 
morsel of meat, sold his birthright. For ye know 
how that afterward, when he would have inherited 
the blessing [of the firstborn], he was rejected : for 
he found no place of repentance [no change in his fa- 
ther's mind], though he sought it carefully with 
tears." 

We are told, in Genesis xxv. 34, that "Esau de- 
spised his birthright. ' ' This was an irreverent spirit, 
and was really dishonoring both to himself and his fa- 
ther. In the allegory, it must represent the spirit and 
state of those who belittle or ignore the " crown, " 
and the " throne," that is, the position of the royal 
priesthood, " the high calling of God in Christ Je- 
sus. ' ' There are those who do count it of little or no 
value, and blame us for talking and writing so much 
about it. And we may not judge how many there 
are who for a little present personal gratification, — 
"a mess of pottage," — bring on that defilement 



94 MOSES AND CHRIST. 

which will rob them of their birthright — the ruling 
position in the kingdom of God. 

But it is a matter of rejoicing, that whether Esau 
be considered as the type of the Jewish nation or of 
a class in the Gospel Church, (and doubtless both 
are correct), the illustration does not suggest either 
endless torment or hopeless death; for though he 
lost the position, and consequently the blessing, of 
the firstborn, he received another blessing, and was 
afterward reconciled to his lot and his brother. He 
did not cease to be a son, even though he had de- 
spised and sold his birthright. 

If any think that Esau, or the non-elect, whom he 
represents, being shut out from the position and 
blessing of the firstborn, cannot be blessed at all, let 
them read and consider the plaintive cry or prayer 
of Esau, and its answer:— 

" Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me? * * 
Hast thou but one blessing, my father? bless me, 
even me also, O, my father! And Esau lifted up his 
voice and wept." And his father pronounced a rich 
blessing upon him. But by comparing the two bless- 
ings, as recorded in Gen. xxvii. 28, 29 and 89, 40, it 
will be seen that Jacob's blessing included that of 
authority or ruling power, while to Esau it was said, 
" Thou shalt serve thy brother." This is really the 
difference between the "little flock " and the "great 
multitude ' ' in the New Jerusalem state. The over- 
comer has the promise of a crown and a throne, but 
the others stand before the throne and serve. But 
let us remember that whatever may be the spirit and 
design of earthly rule, those who obtain authority in 
the heavenly kingdom, will rule in love and for the 
purpose of blessing to all mankind. Well, therefore, 
may we aspire to the position of God 'select as repre- 
sented by Jacob, and by loyalty to Christ secure the 
blessing of the firstborn. 



MOSES AND GHRIST. 




CHAPTER XIV. 

LEAH AND RACHEL. 

N Leah and Rachel, the two wives of Jacob, we 
see a picture of the Jewish and Gospel Churches; 
oQ) and in the twice seven years which Jacob 
served for Rachel, though at the end of the first- 
seven he obtained Leah, (see Gen. xxix.) w T e see the 
Jewish and Gospel dispensations, which are equal in 
their duration. 

These types are not here used to prove the equality 
of these two dispensations. That is proved by direct 
chronological and prophetic testimony. — See Two 
Dispensations, in Day Dawn. But having such 
direct testimony that they are equal, these typical 
pictures illustrate that equality, and so confirm the 
application of the prophecies. Thus w r e see the 
" Gospel in Type and Prophecy. " And who can see 
these wonderful allegorical pictures, and not be led 
to set a higher value on these peculiar and striking 
histories given in the writings of Moses? Surely the 
Eternal Spirit, manifested in Christ and his work, 
was the underlying and controlling power in the con- 
struction of those lives. 

In the allegories we have been considering, we 
have seen the general outline of God's Plan of the 
ages, and the outcome in the universal regeneration 
of mankind. In addition to this, we have seen God's 
method of saving men, by the destruction of the 
lower or carnal nature, — this really being involved 
in regeneration. But in the allegory now before us, 

95 



96 MOSES AND CHRIST. 

or in the two Churches, and the two dispensations, 
pictured in it, we have an important divine arrange- 
ment to illustrate the great principle which underlies 
God's plan in revelation, and in regeneration, or the 
development of the race of mankind into his own 
image. That principle is, " First the natural [or 
animal], and afterward that which is spiritual." 
This is seen in the fact that the Word of God has an 
internal meaning — the letter and the spirit. This 
has been considered to some extent. It is the basis 
of the applications in this book. The same thing be- 
ing true in the development of man, it follows that 
the natural mind is adapted to the external phase of 
truth, and it to him; and there is the same adaptation 
between the spiritual mind and the spiritual phase of 
truth. 

The Jewish Church was on the natural plane, and 
all its ordinances and services were adapted thereto. 
It needed no regeneration, no spiritual life, to be a 
Jew. Theirs was an earthly, visible organization. 
But the Gospel or Christian Church is not a natural 
or earthly organization, but is spiritual; and hence 
the entrance into it and membership therein depend 
upon the begetting and development of spiritual life. 
Its fundamental law is: " Ye must be born again, ' ' — 
" born from above, " — that is, by the heavenly life 
principle. This is why Jesus said: " Except a man 
be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God;" 
and "Except ye be converted, and become as little 
children, ye cannot enter into the kingdom of God." 
That is because the kingdom of God is a spiritual 
state, or a spiritual organization of those in the spir- 
itual state; and hence the only way in, is to become 
spiritual. And the same law holds good whether a 
few, many, or all are finally to enter in. But it is a 
blessed assurance that regeneration is finally to be 
universal. 

While the gospel principle is not by any means 



LEAH AND RACHEL. 9? 

limited to what is commonly called the u Gospel 
Age, " it is an important fact that the purpose of this 
age, which ends in connection with the return of 
Christ, the heavenly Bridegroom, is to develop the 
Bride,— that is, the heavenly or spiritual organization, 
called the New Jerusalem. — Rev. xxi. 9, 10. And 
the parallels between the natural things of the Jewish 
age and the spiritual things of the Gospel age are 
really wonderful. 

The Jewish age, and the primary organization of 
the natural Israel, dated from the death of Jacob, as 
recorded in Genesis xlix; and the Gospel age with its 
primary stage of the heavenly or spiritual Israel or 
Church, dated from the death of Christ, or from his 
exaltation to glory and the consequent descent of the 
Holy Spirit immediately following. Jacob is there- 
fore in some respects a type of Christ. Jacob had 
twelve sons on which the twelve tribes of Israel and 
the Old Jerusalem system were based; and Christ- 
had twelve Apostles on which the Gospel Church and 
the New Jerusalem system are based. — See Eph. ii. 
20 and Rev. xxi. 14. 

The law of the Jewish age was on the plane of the 
flesh, whose principle is called " the law of sin and 
death;" and the Gospel age is based on " the law of 
the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus." — Rom. viii. 2. 
The people under the old law were servants, or 
' children of the flesh, "while in the Gospel Church 
they are sons, or "children of promise." Those 
were in bondage; these are free. And whom the Son 
maketh free, he is free indeed. The old law was na- 
tional, and adapted to that state of bond-service; but 
the law of the Spirit is the law of love, and is unlim- 
ited in its application and power. "Love never 
f aileth. ' ' The Jewish nation was called * ' a kingdom 
of priests," and was continually offering bloody, 
fleshly, sacrifices (See Exod. xix. 6); and the Gospel 

(?) 



98 M0S3S AND CHEIST. 

Church is " a royal priesthood, " to offer up spiritual 
sacrifices. — 1. Pet. ii. 5-9 and Heb. xiii: 15. 

The Jewish Church was the type, and the Gospel 
Church is the antitype. Their circumcision was in 
the flesh, but the true circumcision, that is, the anti- 
type, is not an external form, but is inward, " of the 
heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise 
is not of men, but of God." — Rom. ii. 29; Phil. iii. 3 
and Col. ii. 11. 

Their Jerusalem, their land, their sabbath, or rest, 
their inheritance, and their life, were all earthly. 
All the promises and threatenings of that age related 
only to earthly life and death — commonly called 
" temporal " blessings and cursings; but the spiritual 
life and immortality are brought to light in the gos- 
pel, (2. Tim. i. 10), and our land, our rest, our inherit- 
ance, and the New Jerusalem, are all on the spiritual 
plane. 

In harmony with this principle of progression from 
the natural or earthly plane to the spiritual plane, 
the first and second advents of our Lord are arranged. 
The first coming was in a fleshly body, on the Jewish 
level, and adapted to the work of sacrifice necessary 
to bring mankind into the spiritual life; but the sec- 
ond coming is in a spiritual or heavenly body, to the 
Christian ideal, and adapted to the spiritual condition 
of the sons of God, and as the apostle says, " With- 
out sin [and therefore without a sin-offering] unto 
salvation." — Heb. ix. 28. That is, he comes to per- 
fect that for which the foundation was laid at the 
first advent, namely: the establishment of a spiritual 
kingdom, for the purpose of regenerating the world. 

But let us return to the type. Whoever will care- 
fully and reverently read the twenty-ninth chapter 
of Genesis, with the light of the plan of the ages 
shining upon it, may see that Leah and Rachel are 
personal types of the Jewish and Gospel Churches 
And this will be the more evident because Jacob was 



LEAH AND RACHEL. 99 

a type of Christ. Leah was the elder, and Rachel 
the younger. Jacob wanted Rachel. He loved her 
(Verse 18), and served for her all the time, even twice 
seven years. And yet he obtained Leah first. 

Let us bear in mind that these two, like the other 
twos we have considered, represent the natural and 
the spiritual, and we may see the same principle 
elsewhere. The Lord's object in creation is the spir- 
itual man — man in his own image. The spiritual is 
God's choice — the supreme object of his love, and 
yet the natural is obtained first; and the elder serves 
the younger. The same is true of the Church. The 
spiritual Church is the supreme object of the Lord's 
love and choice, and the whole aim of the divine 
work is to obtain it, and yet the natural or earthly 
(the Jewish) Church is obtained first. Who can fail 
to see that this element of the divine plan is repre- 
sented by Leah and Rachel? 

One quality of the Jewish Church is suggested by 
the fact stated, that " Leah was tender-eyed. " — Ver. 
17. Weakness of eyes, or inability to see spiritual 
things, is an essential quality of the natural man, 
and was a special characteristic of the Jewish Church. 
Paul tells us, in Romans xi. 25, that "Blindness in 
part has happened to Israel, until the fullness of the 
Gentiles be come in." Leah being a type of Israel 
in the flesh is a good reason for putting on record 
the condition of her eyes. 

The fruitfulness of Leah, and, for a time, the bar- 
renness of Rachel, are very suggestive. It is in har- 
mony with the fact that the natural or animal has 
always been more fruitful than the spiritual. Natu- 
ral results are first, and more readily realized. But 
as Rachel's barrenness ceased, in answer to her 
pleading with God, we may rejoice in the assurance 
that the spiritual Church, though long backward in 
manifesting her power, will yet be fruitful, and peo- 
ple God's kingdom with her heavenly offspring. To 



100 



MOSES AND CHRIST. 



this end the Lord will in due time answer her ear- 
nest prayer. The Father says to the Son, the Head 
and Husband of the Heavenly Church : "Ask of me, 
and I will give thee the heathen [the nations] for 
thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the 
earth for thy possession." — Psalm ii. And God has 
promised that the children of Abraham, according to 
the law of the Spirit, shall be as the stars of heaven, 
innumerable. (Gen. xv. 5; xxii. 17; Gal. iii. 8-14. 





MOSES AND :0ffipT. 

CHAPTER XV. 

THE HISTORY OF JOSEPH. 

HE history of Joseph, one of Jacob's twelve 
sons, as given in the book of Genesis, (begin- 
ning at chapter xxxvii.), is one of the most in- 
teresting biographies in the Bible. As the true 
story of a man's life and wonderful career, it has 
scarcely an equal, except in its antitype, the life and 
career of Christ. On reading Joseph's history, ore 
is reminded of the saying: " Truth is stranger than 
fiction." If any have not read it, it is commended 
to their attention at the first opportunity. Many, 
both young and old, have read it w T ith thrilling in- 
terest and lasting profit. The mind is carried from 
things simple, natural and homelike, to and through 
events both romantic and tragic, to a climax most 
wonderful in its effect on Joseph himself, on his fa- 
ther and brothers, and on the history of the young 
and rising nation of Israel. 

Joseph is first brought to view as a shepherd boy, 
a lad of seventeen years, the favorite of his father, 
and, partly on that account, hated by his brethren. 
He was evidently pure and honest-hearted; and his 
out-spoken report of their evil-doings, added to the 
fact that Jacob loved him more than all the other 
sons, aroused in them a spirit of jealousy and malice. 
All this, on both sides, was very natural. Then the 
spirit of hatred was intensified by Joseph's two 
dreams, which he very innocently told, the first to 
his brethren, the second to both his father and his 

101 



102 MOSES AND C HEIST. 

brethren. He may not have realized their import, 
but they at once interpreted them as foreshadowing 
his superiority to themselves and their bowing to 
him. The brethren scouted his apparent youthful 
ambition, and hated him the more for his dreams. 
His father reproved him, but he " observed the say- 
ing," — evidently being impressed with the thought 
that these youthful ambitions might be, as they oiten 
have been, the forecasting of future events. Joseph 
was what men sometimes call " A man of destiny." 

On a certain day the brethren were supposed to be 
feeding their flocks at Shechem, and Joseph was 
sent to them. But they had moved to Doth&m, and 
he followed them. When they saw him, they snid, 
" Behold, this dreamer cometh. Come now there- 
fore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, 
and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him; 
and we shall see what will become of his dreams. " 

But for the mercy of Reuben, this savage plot 
might have been carried out; but, instead, he was 
put alive into a pit, in which " there was no water." 
Then Judah's brotherly affection was stirred, (Even 
the most selfish and wicked men have some good 
qualities.), and he said, " What profit is it if w r e slay 
our brother, and conceal his blood? Come, * and let 
us sell him to the Ishmaelites, fa company of whom 
were then passing], and let not our hand be upon 
him; for he is our brother and our flesh. " 

The love of money and the desire to get rid of this 
dreamer were mingled with their better affections, 
and so he was sold, ' ' for tw T enty pieces of silver, ' ' 
to be a slave in Egypt. And the coat of many colors, 
or pieces, the evidence of their father's special affec- 
tion for Joseph, was dipped in blood and brought to 
Jacob. He knew the coat, and in anguish exclaimed: 
" An evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is with- 
out doubt rent in pieces." And he mourned many 
days, refusing to be comforted. 



THE HISTORY OF JOSEPH 103 

These are the main points recorded in the thirty- 
seventh chapter. In the course pursued by Joseph's 
brethren is a most remarkable instance of how men, 
acting out their own natural and selfish instincts, 
and determined to thwart some purpose, do the very 
thing necessary for its execution. The sequel show T s 
this to have been a clear case of the over-ruling 
providence of God ; and it is a forcible illustration of 
the revealed truth, that the wrath of man shall 
praise the Lord; and the remainder of wrath will he 
restrain. — Ps, lxxvi. 10. 

Passing to the thirty-ninth chapter, we tind Joseph 
a slave in the house of Potiphar, (an officer of Pha- 
raoh) who bought him from the Ishmaelites. As a 
bond-servant, he is a young man of sterling integrity, 
and faithful to his master in all things. He owns 
the Lord as his real Master, and He is with him and 
blesses him, so that whatever is given into his hand 
prospers. Potiphar appreciates his integrity, faith- 
fulness and success, and makes him overseer of his 
house. Here his honor and his integrity to his mas- 
ter and his God are put to the test. A wicked wom- 
an, his master's wife, becomes his temptress, and 
failing in her designs, she determines to w^ork his 
ruin. She comes to her husband with a wicked lie, 
which he very naturally believes, and as a result, 
Joseph is cast into prison. 

Here is a turn of events in which all seems dark. 
A heavy cloud hangs over the prospect; and his situ- 
ation was the apparent reward of being true to right 
principle. But it pays to be right, in spite of dark 
appearances. Even as a prisoner, the Lord was 

with him, and he found favor with his keeper, en- 
joyed much freedom, and was even placed in charge 
of the other prisoners. And this peculiar trial and 
imprisonment, uncalled for as they seemed, were the 
necessary steps toward his final exaltation, and the 



104 MOSES AND C HEIST. 

realization of his youthful dreams. How true it is 
that, 

"God moves in a mysterious way, 
His wonders to perform. ' ' 

And having faith in God, Joseph, like God's people 
generally, could glory even in tribulation, knowing 
that under the influence of the storm, strength and 
character are developed. 

In the fortieth chapter we are shown how Joseph 
spoke for the Lord among his fellow-prisoners; — how 
by inspiration he rightly interpreted the dreams of 
Pharaoh's butler and baker;— how Joseph's patience 
was further tried, for two full years, on account of 
the ingratitude, or thoughtlessness, or both, of the 
restored butler, who had promised to make favorable 
mention of Joseph, but being himself blessed, he for- 
got his promise. But finally, as recorded in the 
forty -first chapter, Pharaoh himself had two pro- 
phetic dreams — seven fat cattle are eaten up by seven 
lean ones, and seven good ears of corn are devoured 
by seven thin ears. Here was an opportunity for 
testing the magicians of Egypt, but none of them 
could interpret the dreams. The butler is now re- 
minded of Joseph, and speaks of him to Pharaoh, who 
has him immediately brought to his presence. As 
an interpreter of dreams, Joseph took no honor to 
himself, but said: " It is not in me: God shall give 
Pharaoh an answer of peace. ' ' 

The dreams are told to Joseph, and he interprets 
them. He shows that they are both one dream 
(Verse 26), and that primarily the seven good cattle 
and seven good ears of corn meant seven years of 
plenty, and the seven poor cattle and seven poor 
ears of corn meant seven years of famine which were 
to follow; and that the plenty of the seven good years 
would be used up in the seven years of famine. Jo- 
seph then counseled Pharaoh to make the necessary 



THE HISTOEY OF JOSEPH. 105 

arrangements to make the most of the years of plenty, 
in the way of storing provisions for the years of fam- 
ine, — ' ' That the land perish not through the famine. ' ' 

This interpretation and counsel caused Pharaoh to 
recognize the presence of the Spirit of God in Jo- 
seph, and were the occasion of his exaltation to 
Pharaoh's right hand. He was appointed to super- 
intend the great work of preparing the storehouses, 
and the storing and distribution of the bread. He was 
made ruler of the people and the land, subordinate 
only to Pharaoh himself. Thus the way was open- 
ing up, and in a manner that no mortal could have 
anticipated, for the fulfillment of his dreams. All 
that his brethren had done to prevent this, was nec- 
essary to its accomplishment. 

This history is an illustration of how the Lord may 
be with a man, shaping his life and preparing him 
for his destiny, even when it least appears. Life 
must have been dark indeed to Joseph, and his faith 
in a covenant-keeping God severely tried, when he 
was put into the pit; when he was sold by his breth- 
ren; when he was a slave in the house of Potiphar; 
when he was cast into prison for his virtue and in- 
tegrity; and when he so long remained a prisoner 
through the neglect of one whom he had befriended. 
The glory was long in coming; it came in a strange, 
dark way; but it came. It illustrates the great prin- 
ciple that the cross is the way to the crown. " If we 
suffer [for righteousness' sake], we shall reign." 
And it is because the Lord is with a man in the cross 
or suffering, even in the darkest hour, that it leads 
to the crown. 

Let no one think, then, that to have things easy 
and pleasant, or as one might choose them, is an evi- 
dence that the Lord is with him. He is with his 
people even though they stumble and fall; though 
they walk through the dark valley of the shadow of 
death. He says, " I will never leave thee; I will 



106 MOStiS AND CHRIST. 

9- 

never forsake thee. " It is God's order that night 
comes before day. And the trials by, and overcom- 
ing of, the things of the night are the necessary 
preparation for the glory and power of the coming 
day of the Lord. 

The seven years of plenty came, and the store- 
houses were filled, as Joseph had predicted. The 
famine also came, as foretold, and it extended to the 
land of Canaan; and Jacob sent his sons to Egypt to 
buy corn. Joseph knew them, but they knew him 
not. He was but a lad when they sold him, and 
twenty years had made a great change in his appear- 
ance. Besides they had no thought of finding him 
in the position and dress of the Governor of Egypt. 
And before they were aware of it, they were fulfilling 
his first dream: " They bowed down themselves be- 
fore him with their faces to the ground. " 

Their first treatment at the hands of Joseph was 
severe. This they deserved, and it was for their 
good. But mercy triumphed. He spoke harshly to 
them, and, though he supplied them with corn, when 
one of their number was kept as a hostage until their 
younger brother, Benjamin, should be brought, their 
sin against Joseph was brought vividly to mind, and 
they keenly felt their guilt, and that his blood was 
being required at their hand. Oh, what trouble and 
bitter sorrow come in consequence of sin ! 

What a dark cloud hung over their hearts and their 
home when they came without Simeon, each man's 
money in his sack, as if they had stolen the corn or 
the money, and the demand is made that Benjamin 
must go down to Egypt! Oh! how they must have 
been punished, yea, tormented, when their father 
said to them: " Me have ye bereaved of my children: 
Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take 
Benjamin away." 

It seemed as if Jacob could not let Benjamin go. 
But as the famine continued, they must have bread, 



THE HISTOBY OF JOSEPH, 107 

and Benjamin had to go. There is something pe- 
culiarly natural and pathetic in the words of Jacob 
as he finally consents to let Benjamin go: "If it must 
be so now, do this; carry down the man a present, a 
little balm, and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, 
nuts and almonds: and take double money in your 
hand; and the money that was brought again in the 
mouth of your sacks, carry it again in your hand; 
peradventure it was an oversight. Take also your 
brother and arise, go again unto the man: [Is the 
following the language of faith or despair?] And* 
God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that 
he may send away your other brother, and Ben- 
jamin." 

When Joseph saw his brother Benjamin, (the oth- 
ers being half-brothers), he made arrangement at 
once for them all to dine with him. But with their 
sense of guilt, even this kindness troubled them, and 
they were sore afraid. When they brought out the 
present their father had sent, and Joseph inquired 
about his father,, they "Bowed down their heads, 
and made obeisance." Joseph entered into his 
chamber and wept. It was no doubt on account of 
his love for his brethren ; but it may have been part- 
ly the remembrance of his dream, now fulfilled, bring- 
ing to him the assurance that in all these years he 
had been in the hands of God. What cause for sol- 
emn joy to have the assurance that God's own hand 
leads us! 

Who can read chapter xlv. and not be touched with 
tenderness and sympathy? Joseph makes himself 
known to his brethren. He weeps before them. They 
have the strange experience of mingled shame, fear, 
and a dawning hope and joy. They thought of him 
as one dead, and they had done the cruel deed. They 
now looked on him whom they had pierced; he had 
the power to crush them or make them slaves for- 
ever, but he was proving himself their kind benefac- 



108 MOSES AND CHRIST. 

tor and deliverer. They mourned, and condemned 
themselves, but he forgave them, and even excused 
them : "It was not you that sent me hither, but God. ' ' 
"Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with your- 
selves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me 
before you to preserve life." 

Oh, what a change! How dark the cloud had been! 
How bright the sunshine now! If a little while ago 
we could weep with them that weep, we can now re- 
joice with them that rejoice. Who would not now 
be one of the brethren, to carry the glad message to 
their father of Joseph alive, who was supposed to 
be dead? What joy now to the aged father, going 
down into Egypt to see his long-lost son, and to 
have the assurance that he was safe in the hands of, 
and in the home provided by, his own son, as the 
Governor of Egypt. ' ' And Joseph nourished his 
father, and his brethren, and all his father's house- 
hold, according to their families." 

This somewhat lengthy outline has been given to 
encourage, if possible, a careful reading of the whole 
history. Who will say that, even considered as the 
history of a life, it is not both interesting and mar- 
vellous? The integrity, and exemplary conduct of 
Joseph, even in the midst of severe trials and tempta- 
tions, are worthy of admiration and imitation. Jo- 
seph's relation to God's cause and people of that day 
is important. It must truly be considered as a re- 
markable instance of the over-ruling Providence of 
God, in the affairs of men and nations; — showing 
how man, seeking his owtl selfish ends, and succeed- 
ing to a certain extent, may yet have his plans 
thwarted, and the seeming evil turned to good ac- 
count. 

Joseph a Type of Christ. 

While Joseph's history has been justly valued for 
various reasons, the most important of all is its al- 



JOSEPH A TYPE OF CHBIST. 109 

legorical or pictorial character. Who can read it 
and fail to see that in its general features, it clearly 
represents the life and work of our Lord Jesus 
Christ? If it were apart of the law, every " jot and 
tittle " would foreshadow something; but an allegory 
gives a picture only on general principles. It is the 
allegory that makes it gospel; and, as we have seen, 
this is the manner in which Moses wrote of Christ. 
This feature of Bible history, overlooked by many, 
and denied by some, is becoming more and more ap- 
parent; and to all who can see it, it is a clear evi- 
dence of the divine inspiration of the Bible, In the 
light of the allegory, the story itself, though true 
and interesting, sinks into comparative insignificance. 
The spiritual import eclipses the natural. And in 
these days, when men's faith in the Bible as the 
Word of God is being severely tried, and in many 
cases shaken, it is a great help to the faith of some 
when they see the principles of the gospel underly- 
ing the history of those ancient times. The same 
Mind that planned the gospel, superintended the 
lives of those ancient characters, and in his own way 
inspired the writers. This evidence is all the more 
valuable because many of these correspondencies or 
parallels have not long been seen. They have been 
hidden away, as jewels in the earth, to be uncovered 
now, for the encouragement of the faith of God's 
children, in this hour of bold and defiant infidelity. 

It seems that no Christian, whose attention is 
called to this subject, could have any difficulty in 
tracing the many features of our Saviour's life and 
work in the history of Joseph. He was his father's 
well-beloved son— " Israel loved Joseph more than 
all his children." — Gen. xxxvii. 8. For this, his re- 
proving their sin, and for his ambitious dreams of 
coming glory, his brethren hated him. So Jesus, 
the beloved Son of his Father, because of his con- 
demning their sin, and for his royal claims, as one 



1 1 MOSES A ND 'CHRIST. 

born to be their King, was hated by his brethren — - 
the Jews. The w r ords are almost the same. When 
Joseph told his brethren the dream of their sheaves 
making obeisance to his sheaf, they said: " Shalt 
thou indeed reign over us?" For a similar dream, 
even Ms father rebuked him. — Verses 8-10. So Je- 
sus' brethren said: " We will not have this man to 
rule over us;" " We have no king but Caesar." In 
both cases the malice became so intense that they 
determined to kill the aspirant to royal honors. 
They both went into the pit, and were both deliv- 
ered from death. True; Joseph did not actually die, 
but neither did Isaac, who also prefigured Christ, 
and yet it is said: " Abraham offered his son Isaac," 
and ' ' received him from the dead in a figure." — 
Heb. xi. 17-19. The pit into which Joseph was cast, 
was a figure of the death-state into which Christ 
descended. Joseph was counted dead, and his resur- 
rection was thus in figure; but Christ's death and 
resurrection w 7 ere both in fact. 

The events did not all occur in the same order in 
both cases: but both w T ere severely tempted and re- 
sisted; both occupied for a time the position of a 
servant, and were shamefully abused; .both were 
favored of God in their sufferings, and had their 
-cause miraculously vindicated; both had a price set 
upon them by their enemies, in certain pieces of 
silver; and both gained a glorious victory, by being 
exalted to the " right hand of power." Pharaoh 
said to Joseph: " Thou shalt be over my house, and 
according to thy w r ord all my people shall be ruled: 
only in the throne will I be greater than thou." — 
Gen. xli. 40. He was royally robed and enthroned, 
and before him went the cry: "Bow the knee." — 
Verses 42, 43. What Pharaoh did for the people 
was done through Joseph, and the only way to ob- 
tain the blessing of Egypt was by his mediation. So 
Christ was " exalted to the right hand of God:" sat 



JOSEPH A TYPE OF CHRIST. Ill 

down with the Father in his throne, (Rev. iii. 21); 
had all pow T er given to him in heaven and earth, 
(Matt, xxviii. 18) ; " that at the name of Jesus every 
knee should bow." — Phil. ii. 9-11. "He is Lord of 
all," " the way, the truth, and the life," and none 
can come to the Father except by him. Pharaoh 
gaye Joseph a name, the signification of which is one 
to whom secrets are revealed, or the revealer of 
secrets.— See Gen. xli. 45, with margin. So, "No 
man knoweth the Father but the Son, and he to 
whom the Son will reveal him." — Matt. xi. 27. 

The grand feature of Joseph's work was that of 
bread-giver. It could be had now T here else. In this 
he clearly represented Christ. The bread which Jo- 
seph gave was for the natural life; and the bread 
which Christ gives is for the spiritual life. Jesus 
says: " I am the bread of life;" "I am the truth;" 
' ' Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every 
word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God," 
(Matt. iv. 4); "The words that I speak unto you, 
they are spirit and they are life." Well may we say 
as said Peter, " To whom shall we go? thou hast the 
words of eternal life. " — John vi. 63, 68. Oh, that 
all might realize their dependence on the Lord Jesus ! 
Eternal life only in Christ is the essence of the gos- 
pel. He gives it; and he sustains it by the truth, as 
Joseph sustained the natural life by bread. Let us 
remember that in order to get bread, we must apply 
for it as did the hungry to Joseph. Christ is the re- 
warder of them that diligently seek him. Oh! ye 
hungry ones, feed upon his precious truth and be 
filled. " Give us this day our daily bread." 

Joseph's youthful dreams were realized. His 
brethren that scorned him on account of these dreams, 
and cast him out, had to come to him at last for 
bread, and they gladly bowed before him. He whom 
they rejected and counted as dead became their ben^ 
ef actor and saviour. They looked on him whom 



112 MOSES AND CHRIST. 

they had pierced (in figure), and they mourned and 
were ashamed; but he fed them, and even excused 
them,— " It was not you that sent me hither, but 
God." V Now therefore, be not grieved nor angry 
with yourselves, that ye sold me hither; for God did 
send me before you to preserve life. " — Gen, xlv. 5- 
8. So when the Jews, who despised and rejected Je-. 
sus, their King, were left desolate, it was not for 
always. Promises of restoration are abundant. And 
they are not only to have natural blessings, but 
they are to have the spiritual bread as typified by 
the natural. As Joseph fed the Egyptians first, and 
his brethren afterward; so Christ feeds the people 
taken out from among the Gentiles first, and then 
his Jewish brethren. The bread is the same kind in 
both cases, though reaching the Jews later, so that 
the effect on the Jews will be the same as on the 
Church. However great the difference in official re- 
lationship, and degree of glory, — though one is a 
royal priesthood, and the other but private citizens 
in the kingdom of God, — still the life and the means 
of sustaining it are the same. The life that truth 
feeds and sustains is not natural or animal, but spir- 
itual or heavenly, the perfection of which is immor- 
tality. This is the product of the living Word of 
God. 

In reference to the coming day, the Lord says: " I 
will pour upon the house of David, and the inhabit- 
ants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and supplica- 
tions, and they shall look upon me whom they have 
pierced, and shall mourn." — Zech. xii. 10, It will be 
with them as when Joseph's brethren discovered 
their long-lost brother. In either case it is the 
mourning of penitence and shame, but not of despair, 
for the Lord is pacified toward them [forgives them, 
see Revised Version] for all that they have done. — 
Ezekiel xvi. 63. They find him exalted as their King 
and Life-Giver, and he cares for them. They give 



JOSEPH THE FIRST BO EN. 113 

themselves to him, and he provides for ail their 
wants. 

Thus in many ways Joseph represents Christ, and 
the facts confirm our view of God's plan of the ages, 
illustrating the truth that men may be punished for 
sin, and yet afterward be reconciled and blessed, 
Who can fail to see that Joseph's history, in 
this allegorical way, properly confirms our faith in 
the Bible as God's Word, and that Christ is indeed 
the blessed Hope of all mankind? 

Joseph the Firstborn, 

But let us take another view r of Joseph. He was 
the firstborn of the second, the beloved wife of Jacob. 
The second of each allegorical pair of wives repre- 
sent the spiritual, which is the basis of the new or 
second covenant. This is the explanation given by 
Paul in relation to Abraham's two wives (Gal. iv. 24); 
and in a former chapter it was show T n that Jacob's 
two wives also represent the two Churches. The 
Covenants are the foundations of the Churches: — the 
' 'Covenant of works," often so called by Christians, 
being the basis of the Jewish Church, and the Gos- 
pel or spiritual Covenant, the " Covenant of grace," 
the basis of the Gospel Church. It is because of this 
intimate relation between the Covenants and the 
Churches, that we speak of the two wives (which are 
also the two mothers — Gal. iv. 25, 26) as represent- 
ing both the Covenants and the Churches. As ex- 
plained by Paul, the new Covenant is the mother, and 
yet he applies it also to the Jerusalem which is above 
— that is, the spiritual or New Jerusalem. 

It is worthy of notice, while the second wife is the 
type of the highest Church, that the firstborn of such 
mother is the greatest son. Christ is the firstfruit 
of God's spiritual or second Covenant or arrangement. 
The little flock are the firstfruits of the gospel sys- 

(8) 



114 MOSfiS AND CKB1ST. 

tern, the reigning class in the New Jerusalem. And 
Joseph, the first son of Jacob's beloved wife, Rachel, 
is the type of both. So as Jesus Christ is emphatic- 
ally the Beloved One — the Son of God's love, we see 
why, in type, " Israel loved Joseph more than all his 
children, " which both in type and antitype is the 
basis of the enmity and persecution. This principle 
of the lower persecuting the higher is mentioned in 
Gal. iv. 29. " As then, * * even so it is now." 

Then in relation to the two sons of the beloved 
Rachel, Joseph and Benjamin, the following line of 
thought is suggested: — 

The spiritual kingdom, or the New Jerusalem, is 
composed of two classes — the rulers and the servants. 
These two classes are clearly mentioned in the 
Apocalypse. One class is represented as sitting 
with Christ in his throne, sharing with him in the 
work and glory of ruling the nations. They are the 
overcomers. — Rev. ii. 26; iii. 21; v. 9, 10; xiv. 1-4; 
xv. 2, 3 and xvii. 14. The other class is represented 
as uncrowned servants. They are blood-washed, and 
' ' serve God day and night in his temple." — Rev. 
vii. 9-17. 

We have before seen these two classes represented 
by Jacob and Esau. And it is suggested that in ad- 
dition to what has already been seen, Joseph may 
represent the ruling class in God's kingdom, and 
Benjamin the class that serves, both having the same 
father and mother, and therefore the same nature. 
The fact that Joseph was a type of Christ Jesus, does 
not militate against this view, when we bear in mind 
that what is true of the Head is also true of all the 
overcomers. The experience of the One is, in spirit, 
the experience of them all. The trials, the sufferings, 
the humiliations, the cross, in the Lord and his fol- 
lowers, lead to the crown. " If we suffer [with him], 
we shall also reign with him. " Find a promise to 
him, and another similar promise can be found for 



PHARAOH'S DREAMS. 115 

them. Indeed, there is much in the Apostles' writ- 
ings to show that the Man of God who is to rule and 
bless the nations, is that corporate Body of which 
Jesus Christ is the Head. "As many of you as have 
been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ." And, 
" If ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and 
heirs according to the promise." — Gal. iii. 27, 29. 

To those who appreciate this, if does not lessen 
the glory and dignity of Christ Jesus as the Son of 
the Highest, and our Lord and Redeemer; but, on 
the other hand, it gives an additional glory to the 
plan as to its breadth and progression. As Jesus 
himself was the first Person born into the spiritual 
state, so the Body of overcomers, being the organ- 
ized embodiment of the qualities of their glorious 
Head, is the "Church of the firstborn ones," the 
ruling and blessing power, and all not in that exalt- 
ed attitude shall serve and be blessed. 

Pharaohs Dreams. 

Pharaoh the king or ruler ox Egypt, had two im- 
portant dreams, as recorded in Genesis xli. These 
dreams, as interpreted by Joseph, represent the Plan 
of God, heaven's King, as interpreted by, or revealed 
in Jesus Christ. We mean the natural and the spir- 
itual, as illustrated in the " Two Dispensations," — 
the Jewish and the Gospel. 

Pharaoh saw in his dream seven fat cattle, fol- 
lowed by seven lean ones, and the lean ones devoured 
the fat ones. Then he dreamed again, and he saw 
seven good ears of corn on one stalk, which were fol- 
lowed by seven blasted ears on another stalk, and 
the seven thin ears devoured the seven good ears. 

As an allegory of the plan, we understand that the 
seven years of plenty represent the Jewish age, and 
that the seven years of famine represent the Gospel 
age. At first thought, some may object to this on 
the ground that the Gospel age has not been a period 



116 MOSES AND CHRIST. 

of famine for the bread of life. But we think our 
position is in harmony with the facts in the case. 
From whence has come the plenty of the Gospel 
age? The answer is, Out of the storehouses which 
were filled during the Jewish age. The word of God, 
in both the Old and the New Testaments, was writ- 
ten during the Jewish age. All will admit that the 
Law and the Prophecies were written in that age. 
And even if it should be claimed that the New Tes- 
tament was written in the Gospel age, it is still true 
that the teachings of the New come out of the Old, 
as the fulfillment of its types and prophecies. But, 
more than that, the Jewish age did not fully end un- 
til its harvest ended at the destruction of Jerusalem; 
and all the New Testament was written (with the ex- 
ception, perhaps, of the Apocalypse) before that de- 
struction. For ourselves, at least, we regard as 
dangerous sand-bars in our voyage, all claims to new 
revelations, of things not written in the Bible. The 
work of the Holy Spirit, under control of the Ex- 
alted Christ, has been to bring out as the bread of 
life for the people, what was written and stored up 
long before. And this work of unfolding the word 
will last, as the Gospel age (including its harvest) 
itself will last, until the kingdom of Christ is fully 
established, and there will be seed enough in the 
storehouse for the ages to follow. 

Thus in many ways Joseph represents Christ, and 
what he did illustrates God's plan of the ages. We 
have in the case of Joseph's dealing with his breth- 
ren, an illustration of the important fact, which, if 
seen, would serve as the key of hope to thousands 
of despairing souls; that is, that those who reject 
Christ can and will be punished for their sin, and 
yet afterward be reconciled, forgiven, and blessed. 
Surely this case of Joseph is worthy of being called 
" The Gospel in Type;" and it is a good illustration 
of what is aptly called " The Larger Hope. " 




MOSES AND SHRIST. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

HISTORY OF ISRAEL. 

^( OME have been led to date the beginning of Is- 



, rael's History at the call of Abraham out of Ur 
d r^ of Chaldea, but while that was the date of the 

? Covenant, and Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are 
spoken of as " the fathers," the history of Israel as 
a nation did not begin until the death of Jacob, 232 
years after the Covenant. Just before the patriarch's 
death, he gathered his twelve sons around him, gave 
each one his parting and prophetic blessing, and 
closed by saying: "All these are the tw T elve tribes 
of Israel." (Gen. xlix. 1-28.) Until then, they were 
not known as " the tribes of Israel," but as "the 
sons of Jacob," or "Joseph and his brethren. " 

This — at Jacob's death — was the date of Israel's 
organization, and the beginning of a new era. Some 
have dated their nationality and their age from the 
giving of the law at Sinai, after they left Egypt; but 
that was, rather, an important event in their nation- 
al career. That they became a nation in Egypt is 
proved by Deuteronomy xxvi. 5, which gives a part 
of the confession to be made before the priest on the 
presentation of the basket of firstfruits: — 

" A Syrian ready to perish was my father, and he 
went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a 
few, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and 
populous." 

It appears just as though this were intended to 
emphasize the fact that Israel became a nation in 

117 



118 MOSES AND CHRIST. 

Egypt ; and the death of Jacob was clearly the time 
of their organization. The scepter — a symbol of na- 
tionality — was then rirst mentioned, in the promise 
to Judah. There ended the Patriarchal age, in which 
one man at a time — the head of the whole living fam- 
ily in all its branches — represented the Lord's cause 
in the earth. There began the age in which that 
cause was represented by the whole nation — "the 
twelve tribes of Israel. " It is familiarly called the 
Jewish age. 

The nation of Israel was, in some important re- 
spects, a type of the Gospel Church — the real, spirit* 
ual Israel of God. On this account Jacob was a type 
of Christ; and as Jacob had twelve sons on which the 
Jewish Church was based, and Christ had twelve 
apostles on which the Christian Church is based; and 
as the gospel age began at the dearth of Christ, it is a 
harmonious idea that the Jewish age began at the 
death of Jacob. For some reasons — which may ap- 
pear later — it is important to know that it did be- 
gin there. 

The date of Jacob's death is found by what we may 
call a short "side-line" of Chronology, apparently 
given to show the date of Israel's organization. It 
reaches from the Covenant with Abraham to the 
death of Jacob, and no farther. Abraham was seven- 
ty-five years old when his father died and the Cove- 
nant was made. (Gen. xii. 4.) 

From the covenant to Isaac's birth (Gen. xxi. 5) — 2o years. 

Isaac's age at Jacob's birth (Gen. xxv. 26) 60 " 

Jacob's age at his death (Gen. xlvii. 28) 147 ' ; 



Total from the covenant to Jacob's death 232 ' ; 

Paul tells us that from the covenant to the law was 
430 years. — Gal. iii. 17. • And in Exodus xii. 41, we 
learn that the 430 years ended at the coming out of 
Egypt. By subtracting the above 232 years from the 



HISTORY OF ISRAEL, 119 

430, we learn that from the death of Jacob to the 
Exodus was 198 years. 

From the death of Jacob, where the national histo- 
ry of Israel began, until the year 1878 A. D., their 
career has had two distinct phases, (1) with covenant 
favor, and (2) without covenant favor. These two 
phases of their history cover a period of 3690 years, 
and, by the death of Christ, in the Spring of A. D. 
33, this long period is divided into two equal periods 
of 1845 years each. At that middle point, Jesus left 
the house of Israel desolate (Matt, xxiii. 34-39), and 
their age ended. And from that time until 1878 they 
were out in the cold ; or, perhaps we should say, the 
nations made it " hot " for them. They have suffered 
all manner of persecution ; and their experience has 
been like Jonah, or the rich man, in " hell. " 

But it is an important fact that in 1878, at the end 
of the 3690 years, (which includes the two equal pe- 
riods of 1845 years each), a door of hope, and of le- 
gal favor, was opened to them, by the treaty between 
England and Turkey. According to that agreement 
they were to have religious liberty in their own land 
■ — Palestine — under British protection. 

A believer in the Bible cannot accept the doctrine 
of " Chance. " God is working " all things after the 
counsel of his own will. ' ' Israel's history is a pro- 
phetic history, and hence we believe these marked 
changes in the career of this strange people, at stat- 
ed periods, are in fulfillment, of Bible prophecies. We 
believe that the Lord has risen up, so to speak, to 
" have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favor her, 
yea, the set time has come." — Ps. cii. 13. The time 
is ' ' set * ' to favor Israel. 

This history of Israel in two equal parts, or 
" double," is mentioned by three prophets. Isaiah 
(xl. 1, 2) speaks of a comforting message of return- 
ing favor to Jerusalem, based on the fact that " she 
hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her 



120 MOSES AND CHRIST. 

sins. " That it refers to time, — an " appointed time," 
- — the marginal reading* shows. Jeremiah (xvi. 13-18) 
foretells their being cast off from favor until they 
should receive ' ' double ' ' for their sins. The word 
"double, " in this case and the following, literally 
means a repetition, or the '"second half, " while Isaiah 
saw both halves in the past. (See Young's Bible 
Concordance.) Our third witness is Zechariah (ix. 
9-12.) He locates the turning-point in their double 
career. He sees Christ riding into Jerusalem, on the 
very day he left Israel desolate, and says: "Even 
today do I declare that I will render double [the sec- 
ond half] unto thee. " 

This is in harmony with facts. They had an age 
of favor. They have had an equal age without iavor. 
And since 1878 favor is coming to them again. Is it 
any wonder that those who see these prophecies and 
these facts believe that this is the * ' set time to favor 
and build up Zion?" 

On the strength of faith in these prophecies and 
this application, some of us publicly proclaimed for 
three years in advance that the restoration of Israel 
Was due to begin in 1878. We knew not liow it would 
begin, but the Anglo-Turkish treaty, secured by 
Lord Beaconsfield, the Jewish Prime Minister of 
England, greatly confirmed us in the position. 

The Chronology on which the " History of Israel ' 
is based is known as " Bowen's Chronology, " but we 
accept it on its claim of being a "Bible Chronology," 
from Adam to the first year of Cyrus, or B. C. 536. 
We will not here discuss the merits of this Chronolo- 
gy. (For this see Day Dawn.) But for a short, off- 
hand argument, appropriate to our present theme, 
let it be said : This is the only Chronology which 
harmonizes with the requirements of prophecy that 
Israel's history should be in two equal parts, with 
the turning-point at the death of Christ, as has been 
shown. If anyone will test this by any other Chro- 



HIS TOE Y OF ISBAEL, 1 21 

nology, even by the change of a single year, he will 
find the period of favor — the Jewish age — either too 
long or too short to agree with the facts of the sec- 
ondhalf . This Chronology was not made to fit this 
argument, (Bo wen knew nothing of this.) but the ar- 
gument is based on the Chronology, and is in harmo- 
ny with all the known facts. As the one of many 
keys which will open a safe is the right key, so the 
only Chronology which agrees with facts must be 
the right Chronology. 

The following are the figures of the Chronology of 
Israel's history, the reason for the first number hav- 
ing been given : — 

From Jacob's death to the Exodus * ..* 1^8 years. 

In the wilderness 40 " 

To the division of the land. 6 " 

Under the Judges . , 450 " 

Under the Kings , 513 " 

Desolation of Jerusalem. 70 " 

To the Christian era 53.6 " 

To the Spring of 1878 1877 " 



Total - . 3690 



i . 



Who can believe that it is of chance, or a lucky hap- 
pen, that this long period is divided by the death of 
Christ, — the turning-point between the Jewish and 
Gospel ages,— into two equal periods — one of. favor 
and one without favor — in the history of Israel? It 
seems a case where faith in its Divine arrangement 
is easier than unbelief. As an argument in favor of 
the restoration of Israel in our day it seems simple 
and unanswerable. "We believe, and therefore 
speak." 

It was in the capacity of King that Christ, in A. 
D. 33, left Israel desolate, and they w T ere thirty-sev- 
en years in falling — the destruction of Jerusalem un- 
der Titus being in A. D, 70, We believe that Christ 



122 MOSES AND CHBIST. 

must have been again present in the capacity of King 
(and Restorer) in A. D. 1878 when their legal resto- 
ration began, and that they will be thirty -seven years 
in rising again, — the "Times of the Gentiles' not 
being complete until the Spring of A. D. 1915, Christ 
was sent to accomplish both the fall and rising again 
of Israel (Luke ii. 34), and these facts and figures 
show that the Lord works on time. 

It is worthy of notice here that in all the history 
of Israel since the date of their suspension, until the 
present century, whenever the nations have come 
against them, they have been the losers in the con- 
flicts. Since A. D. 1798 — where, as might be shown, 
the Papal dominion ended, and the Scriptural "Time 
of the end ' ' began — the tide has been turning in 
their favor. Their condition has been gradually im- 
proving. They have been gaining influence among 
the European nations — especially England — which 
made it possible for a Jew to secure favor for his 
people by the treaty of 1878, already mentioned. But 
though that treaty made a legal beginning of their 
restoration, it should not be expected that uninter- 
rupted success would attend them, nor that the na- 
tions will give up their dominion over Palestine and 
Jerusalem without a struggle, or before their ap- 
pointed ' ' times ' ' expire. 

It is well known that since 1878 the Jewish people 
have b$en subjected to outrageous cruelties in the 
Eastern Continent, especially in Russia. Some may 
regard this as an objection to our claim concerning 
their impending restoration ; but it is in direct har- 
mony therewith. In Jeremiah xvi. 16, the Lord 
speaks of sending first " fishers,'' and then "hunt- 
ers," to secure and hasten the gathering of Israel. 
The open door to " their own land," secured by the 
Anglo-Turkish treaty, was a drawing power — the 
fishers — to many, and colonization began at once. 
But many — "well fixed " in their business relations 



HISTOBY OF ISRAEL, 123 

where they lived — were not willing to leave ; and 
the cruel persecutions served as hunters to drive 
them where they could be protected. They were 
made willing by these troubles. There are now 
many thousands of Jews gathered in Palestine, and 
it is claimed, by those who have been at Jerusalem, 
that the prophecy in Jeremiah xxxi. 38-40 is being 
fulfilled. 

There are many obstacles to be overcome — some 
of them having reference to the condition of the 
Jews themselves, and others to the Eastern nations. 
It is worthy of note that Turkey — the great Moham- 
medan power which has possession of " the holy 
land," — is now the bone of contention among the 
nations of Europe and Asia. For various reasons 
the eyes of the world are turned toward that center. 
The late persecution of the Christian missionaries, 
and the atrocious murders of the Armenians, may 
serve to unite all the civilized nations against Tur- 
key. England has the legal Protectorate of Turkey, 
the treaty securing which is now being so grossly 
violated. The jealousy among the nations probably 
hinders England's interference to prevent further 
atrocities. By virtue of the treaty she holds the 
island of Cyprus, which gives her control of the 
Straits at Constantinople (the Dardanelles), and ena- 
bles her to check the ambitious thoughts of Russia. 
No doubt England, like the other nations, has selfish 
interests in view, but it is safe to say that she is far 
in advance of Russia, or any other Eastern nation, 
in the spirit of altruism, or whatever pertains to the 
general well-being of mankind. She is thoroughly 
friendly to the Jews. Because of this, and in the 
light of prophecy, it seems probable that the Lord 
will use England in the impending crisis. And may 
we not reasonably expect woe on those who perse- 
cute Israel? 

Even when that nation has obtained a foothold in 



124 MOSES AND C HEIST. 

Palestine and Jerusalem, their trouble will not all be 
over. They, not being at first in the light of their 
own Scriptures, will be deceived into thinking that 
their deliverance is complete, and will make no pro- 
vision to protect themselves, or to repel invaders. 
For a time they will be abundantly prospered, and 
have a sense of safety in their " unwalled villages." 
(Ezek. xxxviii. 8, 11, 14.) Their unfortified condi- 
tion becomes an incentive to the ' ' Chief prince of 
Meshech and Tubal" to make them a prey. (Ver. 2.) 
This may refer to Russia, but for the present, that is 
insignificant. Some expected this prophecy to be 
fulfilled in the war between Russia and Turkey; but 
they did not believe in the restoration of Israel. This 
prophecy cannot be fulfilled until Israel has attained 
a good degree of material prosperity in Palestine. 
Not against the Turks does this invader come, but 
"Against my people Israel." (Ver. 16.) " And thou 
shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villag- 
es; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safe- 
ly, all of them dwelling without walls, and having 
neither bars nor gates, to take a spoil, and a prey, to 
turn thine hand upon the desolate places, that are 
now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered 
out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and 
goods, that dwell in the midst of the land." (Vs. 
10-12.) 

How unlike the warrior Turk! How clearly it 
means the gathered Jews, who think their trouble is 
past! Why will some prophetic students use this 
prophecy, as having an important bearing on the 
"Eastern Question," and yet reject the restoration 
of the Jews to Palestine? 

But while the Lord permits Israel to get into this 
deep trouble, he is against their enemies, (Ver. 3), 
and though severely tried in the fiery ordeal, Jeru- 
salem will be victorious. This will be one phase of 
"the battle of the great day," — "the time of Jacob's 



HISTORY OF ISRAEL. 125 

trouble; but he shall be saved out of it." — Jer. xxx. 
7. "Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy 
spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I 
will bring all nations against Jerusalem to battle, 
and the city shall be taken, * * and half of the 
city shall go into captivity. * * Then shall the 
Lord go forth and fight against those nations, as 
"when he fought in the day of battle. " — Zech. xiv. 1-3. 

The enemies of Jerusalem have then what seems to 
them a success, but it is very brief, and proves their 
utter ruin. The manner of the Lord's fighting at 
that time may be as when he fought with the Prince 
of Persia. (Dan. x. 20.) It seems probable that 
some cause of confusion makes the armies turn upon 
each other, and thus their prey escapes. One cause 
is suggested by Joel iii. 1-3 — drunkenness and licen- 
tiousness. But whatever the cause, Jerusalem is to 
conquer. The Lord says he will make ' ' Jerusalem a 
cup of trembling," — "a burdensome stone," "a 
hearth," — or a "torch of fire," to her enemies; that 
he will ' ' destroy all the nations [their armies] that 
come against Jerusalem;" and that she " shall be in- 
habited again, in her own place, even in Jerusalem. " 
Zech. xii. 

If at that stage of their history that people should 
by any means learn who is their Deliverer,— that Je- 
sus, whom they despised and rejected long ago, is 
their Living Friend, — how naturally the next verse 
would be fulfilled, — their looking upon (understand- 
ing) him whom they have pierced, and their mourn- 
ing in penitence under the spirit of grace and sup- 
plication which he says he will pour upon them. Like 
Joseph's brethren, when they learned that he, whom 
they considered dead, was exalted to the throne, 
they will be ashamed and confounded — when they 
learn that * ' the Lord is pacified toward them [or has 
forgiven them] for all that they have done. ' ' — Ezek. 



126 MOSES AND CHRIST. 

xvi. 63 Then and ever after, " Jerusalem shall be a 
praise in all the earth. ' r — Isa. Ixii. 7. 

The time measurements of this argument have di- 
rect reference to the history of Israel, and so they 
have here been used ; but they also have a bearing: 
on the length of the (first) Gospel age and the dawn 
of the Millennium, because the period of Israel's sus- 
pension from favor is the time set apart for the de- 
velopment of the Church — the people for Christ's 
name taken from among the Gentiles. (See Actsxv. 
14 and Rom. xi. 25.) From the premises it seems a 
reasonable inference that the Jewish age and the 
first Christian age are equal in length ; and that as 
the Jewish age began at the death of Jacob and end- 
ed at the death of Christ, but had an extension (or 
lapping over) of thirty-seven years into the Gospel 
age, so the Gospel age began at the death of 
Christ, reached to the year 1878, and has an exten- 
sion (or lapping over) of thirty-seven years into the 
new age of Israel, or to 1915, as marked by the 
" Times of the Gentiles. " — See Day Dawn. We are 
willing to let these facts and inferences stand on 
their own merits. Harmony is not of chance. 

There is a wonderful Parallelism between the Jew- 
ish and Gospel ages. They are related as shadow 
and substance, the natural and the spiritual. Some 
of the parallels are as follows : — Jacob and Christ ; 
the twelve sons of Jacob and the twelve apostles of 
Christ ; (These represent the twelve gates and the 
twelve foundations of the New Jerusalem.) ; the typ- 
ical house of Israel and the antitypical house ; serv- 
ants and sons ; the Mosaic law and the new com- 
mandment — adapted respectively to the servants and 
sons ; the natural kingdom of priests, with earthly 
and bloody sacrifices, and the spiritual kingdom of 
priests, with spiritual sacrifices ; circumcision in the 
llesh and circumcision of the heart ; the earthly and 
the spiritual sabbaths ; the two lands — Canaan 






HISTOBY OF ISRAEL. 127 

and Heaven ; the two Baby Ions, literal and mystic — 
the oppressors of God's people ; (As the literal Bab- 
ylon sat upon waters — the literal river Euphrates — 
and fell by its being turned in another channel ; so 
the mystic Babylon sits upon mystic waters — the 
Christian peoples of Europe, — and she will fall when 
they give their support in new directions.) 

In harmony with this parallelism, there are two 
advents of Christ, first, in the flesh, on the Jewish 
level, and, second, in a spiritual body, the Christian 
ideal. It would be a great help to many could they 
see that the second coming of Christ is, and must be, 
on the higher or spiritual plane, in harmony with the 
spiritual dispensation of which it is the climax, even 
as the first coming was on the plane of the flesh, in 
harmony with the natural dispensation of which that 
was the end. The natural or earthly from the nature 
of the case is visible to the natural eye, but the spir- 
itual — though real and substantial — is visible only to 
the spiritual eye. The Christian dispensation, being 
one of faith, need not be expected to end in natu- 
ral sight. We shall not see Christ until we are made 
like him. (See 1. John iii. 2.) 

We have also seen that the day of wrath on the 
Jewish Church (from A. D. 83 to A. D. 70) and the 
period from A. D. 1878, where the Jewish restoration 
began, to A, D. 1915, the end of the " Times of the 
Gentiles,' 1 are equal. The first was the time for the 
fall of Israel and the rise of the Church ; and it ap- 
pears that the second is the time for the fall of Bab- 
ylon and the restoration of Israel. 

There is room for enlargement on this subject, but 
for the present we forbear. (See " Leah and Rachel." 

A beautiful illustration of the equality of the Jew- 
ish and Gospel dispensations is given in the two 
Cherubim in the Holiest in the ancient temple. (See 
1. Kings vi. 23-27.) They were made of Olive-wood 
—the source of oil for bread, light, and heat. They 



128 MOSBS AND CHB1ST. 

were made with wings extended from wall to wall, 
and meeting in the center at the mercy- seat. To 
this point they both looked. The Cross of Christ is 
the real mercy- seat, the meeting-place, the point of 
reconciliation between God and man. The one 
Cherub clearly represented the Jewish Church, with 
its typical sacrifices, looking forward to the center of 
the ages, to the death of Christ. And the other 
Cherub as clearly represented the Gospel Church 
looking back to the same event by faith, assisted by 
the simple and appropriate ordinance of the Lord's 
supper. And "Both the cherubim were of one 
measure and one size. M 

This illustration will" not be weakened by the fact 
that wiien the high priest entered the most holy with 
the blood of the sacrifice (the blood being the assur- 
ance of its death, or completeness) he sprinkled that 
blood in the form of a cross — "upon the mercy-seat 
eastward, and before the mercy-seat." — Lev. xvi. 14. 
This is the sacrifice accepted, — the basis of the full 
atonement, or the reconciliation of all — both Jew and 
Gentile.— Eph. ii. 13-18. 

As to this equality of the two dispensations we 
have the prophecies, the parallels, and the illustra- 
tion — a threefold cord of evidence, which holds our 
faith. This wonderful combination speaks to us 
louder than any literal trumpet, proclaiming Christ's 
millennial reign begun. The result will be far-reach- 
ing and glorious, not only for Israel and the Church, 
but also for the World. 

" He comes to make his blessings flow 
Far as the curse is found. " 

The seventy-second Psalm is a grand prophecy. 
It declares that the Lord will judge the people right- 
eously and the poor with equity; that he will save 
the children of the needy, and break in pieces the 
oppressors. Every form of oppression must be 
broken as a result of the presence and reign of the 



BIS TOE Y OF I SB A EL, 1 29 

King of kings, whether it be the slavery of evil 
habits, or from the misapplied power of others. 
Selfishness must be destroyed, and the Golden Rule 
applied. Religious, political, and social affairs must 
be revolutionized. The Coming One is not against 
men, but he is against every business and every prac- 
tice that is a curse to men. His presence shall prove 
as refreshing as rain upon the grass, as showers that 
water the earth. " All the ends of the world shall 
remember and turn to the Lord, and all the kindreds 
of the nations shall worship before him : for the 
kingdom is the Lord's: and he is the Governor among 
the nations/' — Ps. xxii„ 27, 28. 

" The seventh trump is sounding, and he'll never call retreat, 
Till he's sifted out the hearts of men before his judgment 

seat. 
Be swift, my soul, to 'welcome him, be jubilant, my feet; 
Our God is marching on. ,? 




(9) 



MOSES AND GHI^IST. 

CHAPTER XVII. 



CT)' HISTORY OF MOSE< 



E come now to the last character in our series 



vJdt —Moses himself. And it may truly be said 

^ of him, " Last, but not least" He is in many 

« respects the greatest character in the list, 

and, excepting Christ, perhaps the greatest man 

that has ever lived. 

Moses is great as the Historian of the creation and 
early history of the earth and of man. What greater 
honor could have been conferred upon mortal man? 
Appealing from his writings, all are in total darkness 
concerning the things of which he has written. Man, 
great in his capacities, and sometimes proud in his 
unbelief, parading what have been called the " Mis- 
takes of Moses," has no way of proving that he is a 
man without Moses' writings. 

Moses is great in that he has given an impartial 
biography of himself. Men in writing of themselves, 
are liable to tell only the good things. Some one 
has well said that men would prefer not to have their 
biographies published if written by the Lord. Bufc 
Moses wrote the truth even when it was against 
himself. 

Moses is great as the Lawgiver of Israel, and— 
may it not be truly said? — of the world. His laws 
relating to hygiene, temperance, health, and the so- 
cial relations, have never been improved upon, even 
after the boasted progress of thousands of years. He 
has been and may be further copied, but never su- 
130 



HISTOR V OF MOSES. 131 

perseded. The things he allowed are the best health- 
food. The Jews, who follow his rules of living more 
closely than others, are the healthiest peoj)le in the 
world. And whatever their faults, they are very 
seldom found on the criminal record. It may be that 
what people eat and drink has more to do with their 
conduct than is commonly supposed. The Mosaic 
moral code is the recognized basis of the laws of all 
civilized nations. 

Moses was a great Poet. For grandeur of thought, 
poetic expression, and sweep oi' truth, we may com- 
mend the ninetieth Psalm and the Song of Moses in 
the thirty-second chapter of Deuteronomy. 

May w r e not safely say that Moses was great in his 
teaching on Astronomy? His writings show that the 
stars (as w r ell as the seed of promise) are innumera- 
ble. (Gen. xv. 5.) It is but a short time, compara- 
tively, since Astronomers taught that the stars could 
be numbered. Where is man's boasted progress? In 
this matter the Scientists have been approaching the 
truth uttered by Mose^- thousands of years ago. Does 
not this prove that Moses w 7 rote by inspiration? 

Moses is great as the Leader and Deliverer of his 
people. Through him the chains were broken from 
a w T hole nation of slaves, and he brought them 
through amazing difficulties into the possession of a 
land flowing w r ith milk and honey. Where shall we 
look ior a character great in so many respects, unless 
we turn to Him of whom Moses said : ' ' A prophet 
shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your 
brethren, like unto me." This wonderful likeness 
to the Lord Jesus Christ as Law- Giver and Deliverer, 
is what stamps Moses as great indeed, and causes 
him to stand out as a unique and lofty character 
among men. 

His life and experiences were of the most romantic 
character. The plot of his history is most striking, 
wonderful, and tragic. No modern novel can com- 



132 MOSES AND CHB1ST. 

pare with it. And it has in its favor the value and 
glory of the proverb: " Truth is stranger than 
fiction. ' ' 

Moses was of the tribe of Levi — the family of the 
priesthood — and a goodly child, (Ex. ii. 1, 2) " ex- 
ceeding fair," or "fair to God." — Acts vii. 20, mar- 
gin. As at the time of our Saviour's birth, the rul- 
ing powers, fearing the uprising of the enslaved, had 
then issued a decree for the destruction of the male 
children. At the age of three months Moses was put 
in the river in an ark of bulrushes, and was picked 
up and adopted by the king's daughter; and was 
nursed by his own mother, the mother being paid for 
her trouble out of the royal funds.— Ex. ii. 2-9. And 
Moses was therefore educated in all the wisdom of 
the Egyptians, and as a prince in the king's court, 
until he was forty years of age. — Acts vii. 22, 23. 
This training was a very important preparation for 
the great work he was to do in after years. And it 
may be noticed as a case of poetic justice against the 
oppressors, that the future deliverer of his people 
was trained in the court and at the expense of Egypt. 

When Moses was forty years old his native sympa- 
thy for his brethren in bondage was aroused, and he 
made them a visit. And seeing one of them wronged 
by an Egyptian, who very naturally was taking ad- 
vantage oi a slave, his soul was stirred with indig- 
nation, and he killed the Egyptian, and consequently 
had to flee for his life. If any are inclined to con- 
demn him for his exercise of mob law, they will at 
least admit that the treatment of his brethren in 
Egypt gave great provocation. And is there not evi- 
dence of great nobility of character in the fact that 
he was willing to sacrifice all his royal prospects in 
Egypt on account of sympathy for the down-trodden 
and oppressed Hebrews? It was, no doubt, counted 
by the Egyptians as one of the "Mistakes of Moses, ' ' 
that, as Paul expresses it, he was willing " rather to 



HISTOB Y OF MOSES. 1 33 

suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy 
the pleasures of sin for a season." — Heb. xi. 25. But 
what men in this way may count a mistake, is often 
proved to be the wisest course. Thus it was with 
Moses. The position attained as the result of his 
choice, was far more glorious than a place in the 
throne of Egypt. "If we suffer [with Christ], we 
shall also reign with him." — 2. Tim. ii. 12. Self- 
sacrifice in the interest of the Lord's cause is the 
way to the crown. 

After fleeing from Egypt, Moses was in the land 
of Midian forty years. By gallantly helping the op- 
pressed, he found favor with the priest of Midian, 
and obtained a wife, who bore him two sons. — Exod. 
ii. 15-22 and Acts vii. 29. Meanwhile his life must 
have been very humble and common-place. It may 
have seemed a failure ; and the more so because his 
people were still suffering in the chains of slavery. 
But the discipline was necessary. He was being pre- 
pared for his future work as their deliverer. 

His experience at the burning bush was like the 
baptism of fire to take away his timidity and to make 
him as God to meet Pharaoh and deliver his people. 
(Read Exod. hi. and iv.) The meeting of Moses and 
Pharaoh — who may have been trained in the same 
court and rivals for power, — the king's refusal to let 
the Israelites go, the consequent plagues, the final 
deliverance of the nation of slaves, the Egyptian ar- 
my following them and being overwhelmed in the 
Red Sea — all these and much more are the elements 
of a most thrilling story. 

After crossing the Sea came the song of deliver- 
ance, the giving of the law amid the lightnings and 
thunderings of Sinai, the Lord's leading the people 
by the cloud and the fire, his feeding them with the 
manna, their rebellion and consequent wandering in 
the wilderness forty years, the supply of water from 
the smitten rock, the pride and fall of Moses when 



134 MOSES AND CHRIST. 

almost in sight of the promised land, and Israel's fi- 
nal entrance into Canaan under a new leader. Where 
can be found a framework for a story more wonder- 
ful and tragic? It is all designed to show the hand 
of God in the history of men and nations ; and it il- 
lustrates the truth, too often overlooked, that true 
greatness comes by being led and used of the Lord. 

We commend the reading and study of the history 
of Moses as one of great interest and profit for both 
old and young. Even as a history alone, it is far 
more interesting than many romances so eagerly de- 
voured in our day. Then with a knowledge of the 
facts recorded, the readers will be the better pre- 
pared to appreciate what is to follow, as to its deep- 
er meaning. 

In closing this chapter, we append the following 
interesting poem concerning the wonderful manner 
in which the earthly career of Moses was closed ; — 
only suggesting that we need not endorse the mate- 
rialistic idea expressed therein concerning the man- 
ner of the resurrection, as the Word has shown us 
that the body sown is not the body which is to be 
raised. — 1, Cor. xv. 37, 38. 



THE BURIAL OF MOSES. 



BY MRS. C. F. ALEXANDER. 

"And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Beth-peor 
but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day."— Deut. xxxiv. 6. 

By Nebo's lonely mountain, 

On this side Jordan's wave, 
In a vale in the land of Moab, 

There lies a lonely grave ; 
But no man dug that sepulchre, 

And no man saw it e'er, 
For the angels of God upturned the sod, 

And laid the dead man there. 

That was the grandest funeral 

That ever passed on earth ; 
But no man heard the tramping, 

Or saw the train go forth ; 
Noiselessly as the daylight 

Comes when the night is done, 
And the crimson streak on ocean's cheek 

Grows into the great sun,— 

Noiselessly as the spring-time 

Her crown of verdure weaves, 
And all the trees on all the hills 

Open their thousand leaves, — 
So, without sound of music, 

Or voice of them that wept, 
Silently down from the mountain crown 

The great procession swept. 

Perchance the bald old eagle, 

On gray Beth-peor's height, 
Out of his rocky eyrie, 

Looked on the wondrous sight. 

135 



136 MOSES AND CHRIST. 

Perchance the lion, stalking, 
Still shuns the hallowed spot ; 

For beast and bird have seen and heard 
That which man knoweth not. 

Lo ! when the warrior dieth, 

His comrades in the war, 
With arms reversed, and muffled drum, 

Follow the funeral car. 
They show the banners taken, 

They tell his battles won, 
And after him lead his masteiless steed, 

While peals the minute gun. 

Amid the noblest of the land, 

Men lay the sage to rest, 
And give the bard an honored place, 

With costly marble drest, 
In the great minster transept, 

Where lights like glories fall, 
And the choir sings, and the organ rings 

Along the emblazoned wall. 

This was the bravest warrior 

That ever buckled sword ; 
This the most gifted poet 

That ever breathed a word ; 
And never earth's philosopher 

Traced, with his golden pen, 
On the deathless page, truths half so sage 

As he wrote down for men. 

And had he not high honor ? 

The hill-side for his pall ; 
To lie in state while angels wait, 

With stars for tapers tall ; 
And the dark rock pines, like tossing plumes, 

Over his bier to wave ; 
And God's own hand, in that lonely land, 

To lay him in the grave,,— 



THE BURIAL OF MOSES. 137 

In that deep grave, without a name, 

Whence his uncoffined clay 
Shall break again, — Oh wondrous thought ! — 

Before the judgment day ; 
And stand, with glory wrapped around, 

On the hills he never trod. 
And speak of the strife that won our life, 

With the incarnate Son of God. 

Oh, lonely tomb in Moab's land 1 

Oh, dark Beth-peor's hill ! 
Speak to these curious hearts of ours, 

And teach them to be still. 
God hath his mysteries of grace, — 

Ways that we cannot tell ; 
He hides them deep, like the secret sleep 

Of him he loved so waU. 




MOSES AND'SHRIST. 



C) 




CHAPTER XVIII. 

MOSES A TYPE OF CHRIST. 



E have found many typical characters in the 
writings of Moses, but now we come to the 
fact that Moses himself was a type of Christ. 
He gave us this Scripture : "A prophet shall 
the Lord your God raise up unto you of your breth- 
ren, like unto me." — Deut. xviii. 15. This is applied 
to Christ in Acts iii. 22. This is perhaps the nearest 
to a direct mention of Christ by Moses. Though he 
did not say Christ, there is no room for doubt that he 
meant Christ. "Like unto me," shows the typical 
character of Moses ; and the present object is to con- 
sider some of the points of resemblance. 

All the types do not represent the same feature of 
the work of Christ. Each has something peculiar to 
itself. In the career of Moses we have a pictorial 
representation of several things elsewhere brought 
to view in the Bible : 1. The existence of Christ in 
the glory of the Father before the coming in the 
flesh ; 2. His great love and condescension shown in 
leaving that glory and taking the form of a servant ; 
3. The two advents of Christ in their relation to the 
house of Israel — the first in the flesh, and therefore 
in the weakness of a man, and rejected ; the second 
in power and glory, as God, at which he is accepted 
and delivers them ; 4. The equality of the two dis- 
pensations, ending at the two advents, and the work 
of getting a wife between them ; 5. The deliverance 
of Israel, by means of a day of trouble, after her 
138 



PBE-EXISTENCE OF CHBIST. 139 

" double " is past, or after the two equal dispensa- 
tions are ended. 

Whether these things were arranged with design 
or not, it is nevertheless true that Moses left the 
court of glory, came to his own people in their bond- 
age, offered himself as their deliverer, and was re- 
jected ; left them in bondage and went into a far 
country ; while absent, took a Gentile wife, and fi- 
nally returned to Israel in bondage and delivered 
them. And no one familiar with the New Testament 
can fail to see that these things in Moses' career are 
an outline picture of the revealed truth concerning 
Christ, It is surely less credulous to believe that 
the Lord planned that Moses should thus prefigure 
Christ, than that this correspondence came by chance. 
But let us look more particularly at the points of 
resemblance. 

Pre-Existence of Christ. 

It will not be denied, by anyone familiar with the 
New Testament, that there are several passages that 
without special interpretation appear to teach that 
before Christ came in the flesh, he was with the Fa- 
ther, and that he came from heaven to do the will of 
the Father on the earth. We know there are meth- 
ods of interpreting these Scriptures so as to make 
them appear consistent with the idea that he had no 
personal and conscious existence until he w r as the 
Son of Mary. The advocates of such methods of in- 
terpretation see difficulties in the way of believing 
in a personal pre-existence of Christ, and therefore 
endeavor to explain away the obvious teaching of 
these Scriptures. It is not implied that they are not 
honest. Their difficulty appears to be mainly of a 
materialistic kind. They cannot understand how T a 
spirit can be personal, or exist without a material 
body, and therefore deny the possibility of such ex- 
istence. Denying the personality of the human spir- 



140 MOSES AND CHBIST. 

it, the tendency is to deny the personality of the an- 
gels, and even of God. The drift of such reasoning 
is toward Atheism, and some reach that state of un- 
belief. But some are saved from it by being able to 
hold a very limited idea of man, the angels, and God. 
We would not argue the matter with them, for it is 
evident that one's idea of God, angels, and men, is 
not so much the result of argument, as of mental and 
spiritual condition. 

Though deploring the tendency of their idea, we 
do not insinuate that they are not Christians. To be 
a Christian, in this imperfect state, does not imply 
perfection of knowledge or ability. (This is good for 
us all.) It simply means that the Spirit of Christ 
has begun a good work in the heart, and that there 
is a disposition to follow him. We are not disposed 
to ridicule them. Some of them may be more in- 
clined to ridicule us. But, nevertheless, we would 
kindly and firmly avow our conviction, that, — not the 
human nature of Christ, which was the Son of 
Mary, but — the One who took on him the seed of 
Abraham (Heb. ii. 16), and thus took on him the 
form of a servant (Philip, ii. 7), had a previous exist- 
ence. We do not attempt to explain the philosophy 
either of that existence or the coming in the flesh ; 
(it is useless to attempt to be wise above what is 
written) ; but the fact of such an existence seems 
clearly revealed. The Word says he came down from 
heaven— John vi. 83, 38, 50, 51, 62. 

Inasmuch as we hold that personality pertains to 
spirit, and that body is the outward manifestation of 
the real personality, we cannot agree with the idea 
of those who claim that when Christ came in the 
flesh, he ceased to be spiritual, and was nothing but 
a human being until he was begotten of the Spirit, 
and that at the resurrection, when he was born of 
the Spirit, he ceased to be a man, and became divine. 
This suggests the idea of three distinct personalities. 



FEE-EXISTENCE OF CUBIST. 141 

Such a view may be necessary to the doctrine of sub- 
stitution, as held by some people, but to us it does 
not appear to be in harmony either with reason or 
the Scriptures. Reason says he must have been the 
same person in all three conditions — the same He be- 
fore he came, while in the flesh, and since he ascend- 
ed. And there are several Scriptures that plainly 
show that Christ is still called a man, and will be 
when he judges the world. — See Matt. xxv. 31 ; John 
v. 27 ; Acts xvii. 31 ; 1. Tim. ii. 5. He did not cease 
to be divine by taking on 1 our humanity, and did not 
lose his human relationship by being glorified. His 
earthly experience is not forgotten, and therefore he 
is still touched with sympathy for our infirmities. — 
Heb. iv. 15. We rejoice in the Scriptural assurance 
that the same One who descended also ascended (Eph. 
iv. 9, 10), and that in himself he has taken our hu- 
manity up, and is therefore able to save all our race 
from all perversity, unloveliness, and sin, and bring 
us all in due time into oneness with God. 

It is a blessed thought that Christ voluntarily left 
the glory he had with the Father, in order to save 
mankind ; that though he was rich, for our sakes he 
became poor, that we through his poverty might be 
rich. This was not only an expression of the grace 
of God, but also of our Lord Jesus Christ. — 2. Cor. 
viii. 9. He was not sent as a passive or unwilling 
instrument, but he came as an active and willing 
agent, as one interested in the purpose and plan. He 
said : "Lo, I come, to do thy will, O God." — Heb. x. 
7. To say that he existed only in God's purpose may 
satisfy some minds, but they lose the motive of the 
love and condescension of Christ. And such a view 
is not in harmony with the prayer of Christ : "Glori- 
fy thou me with thine own self, with the glory I had 
with thee before the world was. " — John xvii. 5. He 
surely was not praying to become again an uncon- 
scious nonentity. It was rather a prayer that his 



142 MOSES AND CHRIST. 

humanity might be filled with the divine glory from 
which he had descended in order to take it up. Such 
a consummation is a complete at-one-ment, (the di- 
vine and the human made one), and is therefore the 
basis of the atonement, or the reconciliation of all 
mankind, through Christ. 

That the personality was not lost in either of the 
changes is evident from the following : ' ' No man 
hath ascended to heaven, but he that came down 
from heaven, even the Son of man, which is in heav- 
en. " — John iii. 13. Again, Jesus said: "I came 
forth from the Father, and am come into the world ; 
again, I leave the world, and go to the Father." — 
John xvi. 28. Some say that all this was parable, 
and therefore does not mean just what was said ; but 
while he often spoke in parables, especially to the 
multitude, it is to be observed that in this case he 
was speaking to his disciples, and they said : " Lo y 
now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no para- 
ble/'— Verse 29. 

Rather than deny the pre-existence and incarna- 
tion because they are above our comprehension, bet- 
ter confess what the Word plainly teaches, that "-No 
one knoweth the Son, save the Father ; neither doth 
any know the Father, save the Son, and he to whom- 
soever the Son willeth to reveal him."— Matt. xi. 27, 
The Son reveals the Father, but does not so fully 
make himself known. 

Oar position is illustrated and strengthened by the 
fact that Moses left the glory he had with his royal 
Father in order to become one with his brethren in 
bondage and deliver them. Why else was he adopted 
into the king's family, and given royal honors, but 
that, as a type of Christ, he might choose to leave 
that glory, to suffer affliction with and for his people? 
The reproach attached to his lower position is called 
* ' the reproach of Christ, ' ' which confirms the idea 
of Moses being a type : ' ' Esteeming the reproach of 



THE FIRST COMING REJECTED. 143 

Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt : 
for he had respect unto the recompense of the re- 
ward." — Heb. xi. 24-26. How like Jesus, accepting 
man's estate in bondage and poverty, that he might 
redeem him ! Though Lord of all, yet in his humili- 
ation, he had not where to lay his head. Great con- 
descension ! Wondrous love ! 

"Oh ! for such love let rocks and hills 

Their lasting silence break, 
And all harmonious human tongues 

The Saviour's praises speak." 

The First Coming Rejected. 

That both Moses and Christ are spoken of as com- 
ing twice to their people, all familiar with the Script- 
ures will admit. The first coming of Christ was to 
his own people, and they received him not. — John i. 
11. The same was true of Moses. — Exod. ii. Their 
object was the same in spirit — to deliver Israel out 
of bondage — the bondage in Egypt being a type of 
the bondage in sin. Moses supposed his brethren 
would have understood that God, by his hand, would 
deliver them: but they understood not. — Acts vii. 25. 
The same ignorance was manifest as to the purpose 
of Christ's coming. The offer made by Moses was 
only to a few, and so it was with Christ. Why the 
Lord allowed the fate of n nation to rest for a time 
on the action of a few, may not be fully understood, 
but so it was. (It is doubtless so of all nations.) It 
illustrates the unity of the race; a few leaders could 
not be degraded without its affecting all; and it is so 
in the uplift; the salvation of the few will lead to the 
salvation of all. 

Both Moses and Christ came in weakness, and 
there was nothing in either that seemed desirable to 
those to whom they were offered. Christ appeared 
as a root out of dry ground, without form or comeli- 



144 MOSES AND CHRIST. 

ness, and was despised and rejected of men. — Isa. 
liii. The facts agreed with the prophecy; and the 
same was true in the treatment of Moses. They 
asked him contemptuously: "Who made thee a 
ruler and a judge over us?" — Exod. ii. 41. And the 
same spirit of contempt was manifest in the general 
treatment of Christ by his brethren, as expressed in 
these Scriptures: " We will not have this man to 
rule over us;" "We have no king but Caesar;" 
" Crucify him, crucify him."— Luke xix. 14; xxiii. 21 
and John xix. 15. 

In consequence of his rejection, Moses had to flee 
for his life (Exod. ii. 15); Christ actually died. The 
spirit of condemnation by the ruling powers was the 
same upon both, and the consequences upon the na- 
tion substantially the same. The people were left 
desolate, and allowed to suffer on in bondage, their 
deliverance being postponed until Moses, after his 
long absence, returned. The same was true at the 
rejection of Christ. He pronounced their doom: 
" Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For 
I say unto you, ye shall not see me henceforth till ye 
shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of 
the Lord."— Matt, xxiii. 38, 39. Who will say this 
is not a w r ord of hope even for the rejecters? 

Getting His Wife. 

It is a w T ell-established fact that while Christ is in 
the " far country," that is, during the gospel age, is 
the period devoted to getting his wife. It is the 
interval between his lirst and second comings. It is 
the period of the desolation and suspension of Israel. 
He visits the Gentiles and takes out from among 
them a people for his name. — Acts xv. 14. This refers 
to the gospel Church as the bride of Christ, for the 
bride takes the name of her husband. The Church 
is therefore " a people for his name. " 

Now, as to the type^ it is a fact that during the 



THRICE FORTY YEARS. 145 

interval between his leaving his people and his re- 
turn to deliver them, Moses went into a far country, 
and took him a wife — a Gentile— an Ethiopian. — 
Exod ii 21 and Num. xii. 1. The dark color of 
Moses' wife may indicate the darkness of sin in which 
Christ's bride is found, and out of which she is 
elevated. But that she was not an Israelite is surely 
in ha inony with the fact that Christ's wife, or Church, 
is of the Gentiles. 

Some are inclined to reject and even to ridicule the 
idea that Christ should have a Gentile wife, and 
claim that the Church is made up wholly of Israelites 
scattered amcvg the Gentiles. So say some of the 
believers in Anglo-Israel. Others make a similar 
claim. Ought not all who are inclined to condemn 
the idea of Christ having a Gentile wife, take warn- 
ing from the case of Aaron and Miriam speaking 
againt Moses because he took a Gentile wife? The 
Lord manifested his displeasure with them. — See 
Num. xii. 1-10. They afterward repented of their 
abuse, and w^ere forgiven. 

It appears to be an important part of God's plan 
that the bride is chosen out of all nations. Every 
people will have representatives in the royal priest- 
hood—the cabinet of Christ. It is true that a Jew, 
on becoming a Christian, is accepted on equal footing 
with others (Rom. x. 12); and in Christ all national 
distinction ceases (Gal. iii. 28;) but the circumstances 
have been much in favor of the Gentiles. We may 
well rejoice in the essential oneness of all in Christ. 
And it seems as if no Christian should count much 
on his national origin, even if he can prove to~ his 
own satisfaction that he is a descendant of Israel. 

Thrice Forty Years. 

In a former chapter it has been shown that the 
Jewish and Gospel dispensations are equal in dura- 
(10) 



m MOSES AND CHRIST. 

tion. The " Two Dispensations" argument shows 
this These are the two periods at the end of which 
Christ makes his first and second advents. And it 
has been shown that the deliverance of Israel is due 
after the " double " is complete. 

Now it seems as if no fact could be more clearly 
represented in type than are these. At the first com- 
ing of Moses, he was forty years of age, and became 
the second time at the end of his second forty. — See 
Acts vii. 23-30. It seems clear that the two forties 
represent the two dispensations. * 

We would not urge the exact equality from this 
type. [It is proved elsew T here.] because it seems that 
the forty years represents a dispensation, long or 
short On this ground it seems that the forty years 
in the wilderness journey represents the Millennial 
age, which must pass before the Jews and the world 
of mankind will enter upon their final inheritance as 
represented by Canaan. (It appears that the Church 
as the called out, while Israel is yet in bondage, make 
the wilderness journey first, as seen in 1. Cor. x,) 

Who, in view of the revealed plan of the ages, and 
the fitness of the facts in Moses 1 career, can say that 
we are making types, or that these applications are 
i mag nary V It seems clear that the Lord arranged 
the picture for the purpose of foreshadowing 1 ic 
plan of the ages, and that these things should be i e- 
garded as evidence in favor of the truth of the Bit lo 
record of the life and experience of Moses and IsraeL 

Deliverance of Israel. 

At the end of the second forty, when Moses re- 
turned, he was accepted by his people, the power of 
the oppressor — Egypt — was broken, and Israel 
brought forth by a strong hand and an outstretched 
arm. The Lord met Moses at the burning bush, em- 
powered him to go to Pharaoh, with Aaron his broth- 
er (" the saint " — Ps, cvi. 16— and therefore a type 



DELIVERANCE OF liStiAEL. U1 

Of the saints) to go with him as his " mouth. " There 
were ten plagues brought upon Egypt, — the first 
three upon Israel and Egypt together, and the ' 'seven 
last plagues " upon Egyj>t alone — which constituted 
a time of trouble by which Israel was delivered. The 
plagues began with the turning of the waters into 
blood, and ended with the death of the firstborn of 
Egypt— every heir to the throne.— See Exod. vii. 19 
to xii. 30. When Israel came out, the Egyptians at- 
tempted to recover them, following them until they 
were swallowed in the Red Sea, and the Israelites 
passed over safely, and sang the song of deliverance 
on the other side. — See Exod. xv. 1-22. 

Though this type treats of Christ in his relation to 
fleshly Israel, and their restoration, yet inasmuch as 
they were a type of the gospel Church, who are in 
bondage to Babylon religiously, as the Jews are "po- 
litically, the same type appears to foreshadow the de- 
liverance of both; and the restoration of Israel and 
the deliverance of the Church out of Babylon — world- 
ly church- systems — are both due in this incoming 
day of wrath and trouble on the oppressors. Israel, 
as a Church, both before and after restoration, is a 
type of the gospel Church. (As a nation Israel rep- 
resents the world of mankind.) And we confess to a 
special interest at this point in the application of our 
subject to the deliverance of the Church. During 
the greater part of the gospel dispensation, but 
especially since the union of Church and State, 
Christians have mostly been in bondage to this mixed, 
or Babylonish power. (Babylon means mixture or 
confusion.) As Israel was in Egypt and was thereby 
oppressed, so the Church — that is, Christian people 
— have been, and still are, in Babylon; and Israel 
never served Egypt half so slavishly, and yet will- 
ingly, as Christians have submitted themselves to the 
doctrines and practices of the " Mother of harlots 
and abominations o> the earth " — R r v, xvii. 5, 



148 MOSES AND CHRIST. 

The object of the second coming of Christ, so far 
as pertains to the Church, is to deliver her out of 
this bondage to Babylon — not to take her to heaven, 
nor to make all its members immediately immortal, 
as perhaps most of us have at some time been in- 
clined to think, but to bring the Church militant— 
the Church on earth — back to the simplicity of the 
New Testament faith and practice, and so set her up 
that in her purity, love and power she will show the 
world the kingdom of God, as it was shown in the 
life and teachings of our Lord when on earth. When 
her essential unity, and the true Christian love and 
brotherhood, are thus realized and manifested, — and 
not till then, — the world will believe on Jesus, and 
be led to bow to him as their rightful King. — John 
xvii. 20-23 and Zech. xiv. 9. 

This ideal state of the Church is the manifestation 
or descent of the New Jerusalem, which in the 
Apocalypse succeeds Babylon. It appears evident 
that it will have two phases, heavenly and earthly, 
inner and outer, invisible and visible; and that the 
coming down of the New Jerusalem and the falling 
of Babylon are simultaneous — the former being the 
cause of the latter, — and both now in progress. It 
may be that the ascent of Aaron (the saint) to meet 
Moses in the " mount of God " is the type of the 
saints (not the whole Church, who are still in bond- 
age) entering the heavenly state, the glory of Christ, 
as a preparatory step to the deliverance of the 
Church as a whole out of Babylon. We think this is 
so ; but even such ascent may have a manifestation 
in the earth life, by some meeting Christ in the spir- 
it and power of the truth, so that they may be able 
to teach others, and so lead them up out of the house 
of bondage. There has naturally been a great tend- 
ency to carry these grand promises of deliverance 
over to the heavenly state, whereas they are to be 
practical and manifested on earth, 



DELIVERANCE OF ISRAEL. 149 

It appears that this deliverance, and the conse 
quent glory and power of the Church on earth in the 
millennial age, are brought to view in Revelation x v. 
1-4. Those there mentioned a,re not immortal — have 
not obtained the victory over death. But they are 
described as having obtained the victory over the 
beast (of Rev. xiii. 1-10), and over his image (Verses 
14, 15), and over his mark (characteristic), and over 
the number of his name. These are all the character- 
istics of Babylon— mother and daughters. Whoever 
is out of Babylon is out of bondage, and has there- 
fore obtained the deliverance and victory here 
brought to view. 

These victors are not represented as standing on 
the " sea of glass like unto crystal,' ' which is "before 
the throne/' (Rev. iv. 6), as they might be if they 
had passed to the heavenly life. (Though then they 
would not be in the position of the immortal saints, 
which is not ' ' before the throne, ' ' but ' ' in the throne, ' ■ 
reigning with Christ). But they are said to be stand- 
ing on "as it were a sea of glass mingled with 4re." 
Their position is clear like crystal, by their knowledge 
of truth, but they are still amidst the scenes of judg- 
ment, represented by fire. They are further described 
as " having the harps of God." It seems that this 
instrument of sweet music must represent the har- 
monious Bible teaching, when freed from the tradi- 
tions and horrible dogmas of Babylon. And ' ' they 
sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the 
song of the Lamb. " This song of deliverance is fore- 
shown by the song of joy when the oppressor had 
gone down to rise no more. — See Exod. xv. 1-22 It 
is a song of hope, joy and triumph. 

Whoever is able to see the harmony between Moses 
and Christ, and to appreciate the full and glorious 
gospel as taught by Moses, and so to find in their 
hearts the melody of God's universal love for man- 
kind, have indeed obtained a great victory, and may 



150 MOSES AND CHRIST. 

well be regarded as singing the song of Moses and 
the Lamb. And when the world can see that victory, 
and hear that harmonious song, then all nations shall 
come and worship before the Lord, for his judgments 
[righteous and loving acts] are made manifest.— Ver. 
4. This is the revealed result. 

We have already noticed that there were ten 
plagues brought upon Egypt, in order to secure the 
deliverance of Israel. Three came upon them before 
Israel was separated, and the " seven last plagues " 
came upon Egypt alone. In Revelation we read of 
" seven last plagues," coming upon Babylon — the 
oppressor of the Church. — See Rev. xvi. This fact 
seems to confirm the idea that the deliverance of the 
Church was foreshadowed by the deliverance of Is- 
rael. The ]ast seven, implies that there were more 
than seven, though the number is not stated in Rev- 
elation. We know, however, that in the type there 
were three before the seven. These three were, 1. 
The waters turning to blood ; 2. The frogs; and 8, 
The lice. — See Exod. vii. 19 and viii. 5, 16. 

The fourth plague, or the first of the last seven, 
was flies (verse 21), but it came after the separation 
of Israel.— See verses 22, 24. Is not the spirit of the 
first plague seen in the fact that in our day many in 
the nominal churches turn away with loathing from 
the former teachings which in the past they consid- 
ered the waters of life, and seek truth anywhere 
rather than in the usual channels? Inasmuch as frogs 
represent unclean spirits (Rev. xvi. 13), the second 
plague may represent the tendency to Spiritism, or 
seeking to the dead (Isa. viii. 19, 20), resulting in con- 
sequence of the first plague. When men turn away 
from the old channels, and do not see God's plan, 
they are very apt to go into Spiritism. The third 
plague, coming along on the line of natural conse- 
quence, may represent the operation of spiritual vam- 
pires. Let these operations be manifest in the nom- 



DELIVERANCE OF ISRAEL. 151 

inal church, as they have been for a time in the world, 
and it seems as if all true Christians would soon be 
separated. 

This bondage to Babylon is one of the causes of 
the defilement of the Christian's garment. When 
the Lord receives a sinner and justifies him, he is 
counted clean, or as having on a white robe; and his 
business in life is to keep it clean — " unspotted from 
the world." — Heb. xii. 15 and Jas. i. 27. But the 
mass or " the great multitude," are " conformed to 
this world, " — axon — (Rom. xii. 2), have their garments 
" spotted with the flesh, " and are slaves to the world- 
ly church-systems and practices. But the Lord will 
save his own out of that condition of things. He will 
bring them out by " a great tribulation, " — represent- 
ed by the plagues,— and they will w T ash their defiled 
robes, and make them white. — Rev. vii. 9-17. 

Israel when separated were protected, but the 
Egyptians fell. It may be, after God's children have 
washed their robes, as above," that Ps. xci. will be 
fulfilled: " There shall no evil befall thee, neither 
shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling." — Verse 
10. The exemption in Goshen appears to be a type 
of this condition. 

The unity and variety in Israel, represent and il- 
lustrate the unity and variety of the Church. When 
the Lord appeared, at the end of the two equal peri- 
ods, it was not to save or deliver Aaron alone — "the 
saint of the Lord," (Psalm cvi. 16) — but to deliverls- 
rael. - ," For I have surely seen the affliction of my 
people, which are in Egypt, and have heard their 
cry by reason of their task masters; for I know T their 
sorrows, and I am come down to deliver them." — 
Exod. ii. 7, 8. The exaltation of Aaron was only a 
means to the greater end. So when Christ comes, it 
is not merely to deliver a few — " the little flock ' of 
saints — but to deliver the whole Church. To see this 
would enlarge the hearts of some; and still more so, 



152 MOSES AND CHBIST. 

when it can be seen that the salvation of the Church 
as a whole is a means to the salvation of the whole 
world. 

This view does not set aside the special honor of 
the saints; it rather enhances it. Moses did not go 
alone to deliver Israel. Aaron " the saint " went 
with him. — Exod. iv. 14-17. By the two together 
the signs were wrought, the plagues were adminis- 
tered, Israel was delivered, and the oppressor 
crushed. " This honor have all the saints." — Ps. 
cxlix. 9. The exaltation of the saints, then, is a 
means to the deliverance of the " great multitude," 
and in due time for the salvation of the whole world. 
Egypt represents the great power of the world, 
which is the natural, and the overthrow of Egypt 
may therefore be regarded as the destruction of the 
enmity, which results in, or is, the reconciliation of 
mankind. The deliverance of Israel and the Church 
leads in due time to the deliverance of the world. 

The Burning Bush. 

We may not yet see clearly all it means. It appears 
however to have indicated the presence of the Lord, 
invisible, only as manifested in fire, — judgments. The 
presence preceded the deliverance: "I am come 
down to deliver them." — Exod. iii. 8. Nothing short 
of Christ's presence can secure the deliverance of 
Israel and the saints, and the fall of Babylon. If 
we see Babylon falling, we ought to know its cause. 
The Lord's presence in the bush was to Moses as a 
baptism of fire, to remove his timidity and make him 
as God for the deliverance of his people. 

It is worthy of special attention that when the 
Lord appeared in the bush, for the deliverance of 
Israel, he taught Moses concerning the resurrection. 
The Saviour so interprets his words: " I am the God 
of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of 
Jacob. " " He is not a God of the dead [as the Sad- 



THE BUBNING BUSH. 153 

ducees regarded death, without any hope of resur- 
rection] but of the living: for ALL live unto him. " 
— Luke xx. 37, 38, This " all " makes it reach to all 
the future generations. Then there is not and can- 
not be such a hopeless thing as that in which the 
Sadducees believed, and in which so many still be- 
lieve, — death without hope of a resurrection. 

But why did the Lord use that particular time to 
teach about the resurrection? Remember, it was at 
the end of the two equal periods— representing the 
two dispensations. It was therefore the point of 
time which corresponds with the end of the gospel 
age, or with the harvest of the age, for "The har- 
vest is the end of the age." — Matt, xiii 39. The 
establishment of the Church, the body of Christ, or 
the New Jerusalem, as the light and saving power of 
the future ages, involves the resurrection, and exal- 
tation to glory, of the overcomers of the past. (It is 
not necessary to think of the resurrection of the old, 
earthly, body; Paul says: "Thou so west not the body 
that shall be. '• — 1. Cor. xv, 37.) The resurrection 
of the whole race begins w T ith the overcomers, at the 
coining or presence of Christ, as 1. Corinthians xv. 
shows. It appears, therefore, that the resurrection 
begins at the same point in the antitype at which it 
was taught in the type. The firstfruits are the con- 
necting link between Christ and all the rest. They 
are the leading spirits who are to reign with Christ. 
The throne of the heavenly city is set first.— Rev. iv. 
2. It is the nucleus around which all are to be 
gathered. The kingdom which is a stone at first, is 
to grow until it becomes a great mountain, and fills 
the whole earth. — Dan, ii. 34, 35, 

The mortal phase of the Church at any time has 
represented the whole body on earth; so the first- 
fruits exalted to the throne may represent the whole 
body in heaven. When Babylon falls, at least "the 
holy apostles and prophets . " are present as wit- 



154 MOSE AND CHBIST. 

nesses, and rejoice.— Rev. xviii. 20. The fall of 
Babylon (confusion) is the hope of Israel, the Church, 
and the world; 

Conclusion. 

The execution of judgment, by Christ and the 
saints, is necessary for the deliverance of Israel from 
her political bondage to the nations, as well as for 
the deliverance of the Church from religious bond- 
age. Because Israel is a type of the Church, some 
have thought that Christ's work here can have refer- 
ence only to the Church. Such have been inclined 
to deny the restoration of Israel altogether. But 
there are prophecies that speak of both; and the one 
need not set aside the other. Restored Israel, being 
natural, will be a type of the spiritual still. The re- 
lation of Christ to Israel as their Deliverer (Rom. xi. 
26), as well as being the " Saviour of the body, "— 
the Church, together with all the evidences that both 
Israel and the Church are to be exalted, each to its 
proper place, during the same period of time, con- 
firm the idea of the Presence of Christ in the official 
capacity of King, because, as has been shown, the 
restoration of Israel has already begun. See Chap- 
ter on the "History of Israel. " 

At the first coming they rejected him, and he left 
them desolate. But now he comes to restore them, 
to establish his kingdom and reign. Unwilling as 
the proud Gentile powers may be to give up their 
hold on Jerusalem and the people, they must yield; 
and Israel wilFnot go out empty-handed. Notwith- 
standing the oppression by their enemies, the Jews 
are the money kings of the world, and have a strong 
hold upon Palestine. Their wealth, and something 
of their manner of obtaining it, may be suggested by 
the manner of obtaining the jewels when they were 
]eaving Egypt. — Exodus xii. 85, 36. 

The exact manner of the fulfillment of the plagues 



CONCLUSION. 155 

may be better understood as they come along. But 
many are conscious of an approaching day of trouble. 
The times in which we live are ominous. The Sav- 
iour said that "Men's hearts [will be] failing them 
for fear, and for looking after those things which are 
coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven [the 
present ruling powers. of evil] shall be shaken.'* — 
Luke xxu 26. Never before (as in this year 1896) 
have all the nations been as it were ready for a gen- 
eral storm. We rejoice that the Lord reigns, and is 
overruling even in the storm, and that when it is 
past, the two Jerusalems will co-operate in the great 
work of blessing all the nations, "The Lord hath 
made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations: 
and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation 
of God."— Isa. lii. 10. 

The subject under consideration is by no means ex- 
hausted. With the exception of the chapters on 
Moses himself, we have dealt only "with the book of 
Genesis. We have often said that there is more 
Gospel in Genesis than in Matthew, and now it ap- 
pears so more than ever. Those who have followed 
us through, doubtless see the truth before asserted, 
that God's plan of salvation is illustrated by the lives 
of Adam, Eve, Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, 
Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, Joseph and Moses; that the 
spiritual and its victories are represented by these; 
that the natural, the earthly, the sensual, the enmity, 
is represented by the Serpent, Cain, the vanquished 
Babel-builders, the destroyed Antediluvians, Esau 
and the Egyptians; that the relation of these two 
lines illustrates the struggle between good and evil, 
the spiritual and the natural, the doom of the evil, 
the success of the good and the final complete vic- 
tory of God and his cause. The rays of light and 
hope for all mankind shine out at all points, even 
where at first it appears most dark. 

Who can see these things and yet resist the con 



156 MOSES AND CHEIST. 

viction that God is the spirit and inspiration of those 

writings, and that they are full of the gospel of 

Christ? The more we examine them, the more fully 

are we convinced that God is Love, that his plan is 

not meager and limited, but is in wisdom adapted to 

express his love*, and is one which includes the final 

and endless blessing of all mankind. As God is man's 

Origin, so he is man's Destiny, all in all — 1 Cor. 

xv. 28. 

*t$. — ^. — ^ — , — 

Watchman ! tell us of the night, 
What its signs of promise are. 

Traveler ! o'er ) r on mountain's height, 
See that glory-beaming star I 

Watchman ! does its beauteous ray 
Aught of hope or joy foretell ? 

Traveler ! yes, it bring the day- 
Promised day of Israel. 

Watchman ! tell us of the night, 

Higher yet that star ascends. 
Traveler ! blessedness and light, 

Peace and truth, its course portend : 
Watchman ! will its beams alone 

Gild the spot that gave them birth ? 
Traveler ! ages are its own, 

See, it bursts o'er all the earth. 

Watchman ! tell us of the night, 

For the morning seems to dawn. 
Travelei ! darkness takes its flight, 

Doubt and terror are withdrawn. 
Watchman ! let thy wanderings cease; 

Hie thee to thy quiet home. 
Traveler ! lo, the Prince of Peace, 

Lo, the Son of God is come !— Sel. 



MOSES AND (3HRIST. 




CHAPTER XIX. 

THE ATONEMENT. 

N the preceding chapters of this book, we have 
dealt mainly with the biographies of men and 
c<9 women mentioned by Moses, regarding them as 
allegories illustrating the fullness of God's plan 
of salvation. The manner of salvation, and in what 
it consists, have also been incidentally considered. 
But the subject of atonement, now to be considered, 
has direct reference to this — the spirit or nature of 
salvation, and how mankind are to be saved. And 
Moses has written of Christ, and of God's plan of 
salvation through Him, in all he has said of the tab- 
ernacle, of the priesthood, and of the sacrifices for 
atonement, of the dispensation of the law. It has 
therefore seemed appropriate to consider the atone- 
ment as a vital part of the theme of this book, as it 
is confessedly a vital element of the Gospel of Christ. 

The word ' ' atonement ' ' is used only once in all the 
New Testament. — See Rom. v. 11. — "By whom we 
have now received the atonement. " It means recon- 
ciliation, (see margin), and shows this by dividing 
and reading it at-one-ment. It is God and man made 
one in and through Christ. In this light it is evident 
that atonement and salvation mean the same thing. 

It is a sad mistake to think of God as in need of be- 
ing reconciled to man. It is man that is out of order, 
and needs to be made at-one with God, — to be recon- 
ciled, saved. God, so far from needing to be recon- 
ciled, or to have his wrath appeased, always loved 
man, and so sent his Son to win man back toHimsell 

157 



158 MOSES A ND CHRIST. 

It was not to purchase God's love, but to manifest it 
and demonstrate It, that Christ came. The creeds of 
men have been wrong upon this subject. But they 
are coming- to see more clearly the vital truth that 
" God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto him- 
mlf" instead of reconciling himself to the world. — 
See 2. Cor. v. 19. 

No clearer view of God's purpose concerning man- 
Id nd can be given than in what God hath wrought in 
the Person of Christ. He took possession of humanity 
for the very purpose of destroying the enmity — shed- 
ding its blood,— and so of bringing humanity up into 
divinity. This is the at-one-ment— making the two 
one. God was manifest in man, that man might be 
raised up into God. Inasmuch as Christ, in his hu- 
manity, represented the world — all mankind, the fact 
that God was in him to glorify his humanity, be- 
comes the assurance that what was accomplished in 
his own person will in due time be wrought out in all 
mankind. This is the gospel. Atonement is the de- 
struction of the enmity and the consequent reconcili- 
ation of mankind to God. 

To see this matter right, while not in any way be- 
littling the work of Christ as the Saviour, sets aside 
the crude, old-church dogma of substitution, and the 
necessity of using many quite familiar and unscript- 
ural phrases, such as: " Christ satisfying the de- 
mands of justice;" " appeasing God's wrath;" "suf- 
fering in our room and stead;" "paying the sinner's 
debt;" "purchasing the love of God;" "reconciling 
God to man;" etc, etc. The practical atonement 
(reconciliation) is secured by Christ in us and we in 
him, and not by Christ doing something instead of 
us. He took our nature, and was thus made sin for 
us, that we might be made the righteousness of God 
in him. — 2. Cor. v. 21. On account of his on eness with 
humanity, instead of by substitution, he died for our 
sins, and rose for our justification, — Rom, iv, 25. 



SHEDDING OF BLOOD. 159 

When the oneness of Christ with mankind as their 
Head is clearly seen, then it will be easy to see w r hy 
he identifies himself with the w T orld, counting his 
judgment their judgment, and his victory their vic- 
tory, as in John xii. 31, 32: " Now is the judgment 
of this world: now shall the prince of this world be 
cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from [or, out of] the 
earth, will draw all men unto me." 

Shedding of Blood. 

The subject of the shedding of blood, in relation to 
the atonement, is one of vital importance, inasmuch 
as it is written that, "It is the blood that maketh 
atonement for the soul;" and, "Without shedding of 
blood is no remission." — Lev. xvii. 11 and Heb. ix. 
22. It is therefore a theme that requires careful, 
earnest and reverent thought. When we approach 
to the consideration of that which relates to the very 
foundation of God's way of saving men from sin and 
death; which must be the only means of righteous- 
ness and eternal life; surely w^e might well take the 
shoes from our feet, as did Moses at the burning bush, 
because God was there, and the place where he stood 
was holy ground. 

Yes, w r e should be reverent in our examination and 
expressions in reference to all elements of divine 
truth; but we should discriminate between reverence 
and superstition. We would not be under the con- 
trol of that spirit, which, under the name of awe and 
reverence, would shut us out from the study of what 
the Lord has done, or revealed. He himself, in ref- 
erence to this great and important subject of cleans- 
ing from sin, says: " Come now, and let us reason 
together: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall 
be as white as snow; though they be red like crim- 
son, they shall be as wool."— Isa. i. 18; What, then, 
would be a more appropriate feature of this all-im- 
portant subject, for the use of our reasoning facul- 
ties, than how, or by what means, sin is to be washed 



160 MOSL'S AND CHRIST. 

away? Merely to accept of the fact, as God has 
promised it, does not admit of the use of our reason, 
so much as if we ask for the philosophy of this sub- 
ject. It is always well to rest in God's promise, even 
when we cannot see the way, or the reason for what 
he says and does; but as we advance from the child- 
hood stage of our Christian experience, we find great 
comfort and strength in learning God's revealed rea- 
son for what he does. 

Some who would condemn us for inquiring into the 
philosophy of the atonement, or asking how the 
shedding of blood saves, are not altogether consist- 
ent, because they, or some of their forefathers for 
them, have earnestly endeavored to search out and 
put together in proper relation the various parts of 
God's word, so as to make a connected view of this 
subject. In our disposition to search and collect and 
arrange we are following their good example; and 
they should not condemn us if we are compelled, in 
the present light, to reject some of their conclusions. 
The great danger, and indeed with most religionists, 
a fixed habit, is to assert that we are rejecting God's 
word, or have left the only ground of possible salva- 
tion, if we dare to deny the correctness of any of 
their conclusions. But while we honor their right 
to think for themselves, and respect their earnest- 
ness, and Christian sincerity, we fear not their 
anathemas, and cannot for a moment submit to their 
control. 

Some of the advocates of that theory of the atone- 
ment which is called " Substitution," are peculiarly 
severe in their denunciations, because we have been 
compelled, as a result of a careful examination of the 
Scriptures, to reject their view of the subject. They 
may disfellowship, but thank God! they cannot un- 
christianize. No man can separate us from the love 
of Christ, nor destroy the blessed relationship of 
which our faith in the Redeemer assures us. And it 



SHEDDING OF BLOGD. !C1 

is a matter of rejoicing that our view of the subject 
does not tempt us to consider those who hold to the 
theory of substitution, as cut off from Christ. We 
have learned to believe that there are thousands of 
people living in the enjoyment of some of the im- 
portant benefits of "The Cleansing Biood," w T ho do 
not know the philosophy-of the matter,— just as there 
are many, both young and old, w T ho can digest food, 
as a blood-making process, who know nothing of the 
laws that govern digestion. 

But' it would do the people a world of good to un- 
derstand the laws of their own being, and the condi- 
tions of well-being — both naturally and spiritually. 
Ignorance is the cause of a great deal of loose talk. 
This is most surely true when people talk about the 
"Blood of Christ," and of "Substitution." Some 
say "Substitution, " when they do not mean that at 
all;— apparently they have never weighed the word. 
They talk about Christ dying "in our room and 
stead," when they know that all have to die, each 
for himself. They talk about Christ "appeasing- his 
Father's wrath," when they know and teach that 
God's love sent Christ to make the sacrifice, which 
they assume appeased the wrath. What a terrible 
contradiction ! Why, "if God's wrath had needed ap- 
peasing, he never could have sent Christ to do that 
work. Oh ! that men would fully learn, and remem- 
ber, that Christ's w^ork is rather to express and 
therefore to satisfy the Father's love. 

Then think of the careless talk so common among 
Christians, both teachers and hearers, about the 
efficacy of the blood, — meaning, as they often tell us, 
the literal, animal blood of the Man Christ Jesus, 
w r hich oozed from his veins in the garden, dripped 
from the wounds by the nails in his hands and feet, 
and poured from his side when the Roman spear 
pierced him to the heart. We hear people talk about 
(11} 



102 MOSES AND CHRIST. 

being dipped, or baptized, in the blood; having been 
sprinkled by the blood; washed and cleansed by the 
blood, etc., just as if it were a commodity as common, 
and as available as water, and as if it had been actual- 
ly applied to their own garments, or their hearts, to 
cleanse them. 

But, says one, do not the Scriptures use the same 
or similar expressions ? — and are we not therefore 
right because w T e use Scriptural language ? Yes, the 
Scriptures do use similar expressions, and we do not 
object to their use, if they are used in a Scriptural 
sense. The point we wish to make is that the Script- 
ures refer the cleansing power to something else 
than the literal or natural blood. People may, and 
often do, use Scriptural language, without seeming 
to have the Scriptural idea, and hence the thought- 
less talk of w T hich we have spoken. 

What people need to know, in order to obtain light 
and help on this subject, is that the Bible method is 
to use natural or earthly things to represent deeper 
or spiritual things. And if people will look at the 
matter earnestly, and think carefully, they will see 
that there is a striking analogy between the natural 
thing used, and the thing represented, — that is, be- 
tween the letter and the spirit of the Word. If the 
people use the term blood in the deeper sense, that 
is, in the spirit of it, it is all right; but otherwise, 
they ought to know that the application of literal 
blood would not cleanse from sin. 

Very few Christians indeed, if any, overlook en- 
tirely the Scriptural method of which we have 
spoken. They see the deeper meaning in many 
things. When Jesus talks of the bread of life, and 
the water of life, of eyesalve, of light, and of a wed- 
ding garment, they never think of taking the words, 
bread, water, eye-salve, light and garment in the 
natural sense. So when Jesus is spoken of as the 
Lamb of God, they see at once that he is not a Lamb 



SHEDDING OF BLOOD. m 

literally, but that certain qualities are represented 
by the use of the word lamb— a natural thing. Now 
what we plead for is that the same principle should 
be kept in mind, or applied, when "the blood of the 
Lamb ' ' is spoken of. Then the passage will appear 
in a clearer light, where it says of certain ones that 
they "Washed their robes, and made them white in 
the blood of the Lamb. ' — Rev. vii. 14. Who would 
claim that the blood must be literal, when the wash- 
ing, and the robes, and the Lamb himself are not 
literal? Surely the ideas of the mass of religious 
people on this subject need a revolution; and none 
the less so even if we have not gained the true Script- 
ural thought. 

Here seems to be a self-evident proposition: In 
relation to the washing away, or the remission of 
sin, or the purifying of the heart, the term blood 
never means literal blood, except in the case of types, 
where the cleansing itself is typical, and not real. 

Can this proposition safely be denied? Are we not 
right in saying that the shedding of the blood of 
beasts, or the literal or animal blood of man, can 
never wash the soul from sin and bring it into a state 
of reconciliation with God? 

The passage in Hebrews ix. 22 seems to be misap- 
plied, and therefore abused: "Without shedding of 
blood is no remission/ ' Read the passage and its 
connection carefully and see that the writer was not 
in that statement speaking of the blood of Christ at 
all, but of the blood of the beasts sacrificed under the 
typical law. And all Christians know that, there, 
purging or remission was not real. The verse reads: 
' ' And almost all things are by the law purged with 
blood; and without shedding of blood is no remis- 
sion. " Then he leaves the law, and turns to the gos- 
pel, or rather makes a contrast between them: "It 
was therefore necessary that the patterns of things 
in the heavens [that is, spiritual things] should be 



181 MOSES AN!) CHRIST. 

purified [typically] with these; but the heavenly 
things themselves with better sacrifices than these." 

Now the important question is, What is meant by 
the "better sacrifices? " We agree with all other 
Christians that these better sacrifices at least include 
the sacrifice of Christ himself — as the following 
verses show. But we are quite as well satisfied that 
they are not limited to the personal sacrifice of Christ 
himself , but include all the sacrifices, by all his fol- 
lowers, made in his name, and by virtue of his Spirit 
operating in them. This larger view of the subject 
of sacrifice is indicated by the plurality — "better 
sacrifices. ' ' And when the statement is applied in the 
spiritual sense, it will be seen to be a principle of 
universal application, that "Without shedding of 
blood is no remission of Sin." In the spiritual sense, 
each one's blood must be shed, in order to the blotting 
out, or washing away of his sin. 

Some, not clearly understanding the position, are 
afraid of this idea, and think it dishonors Christ by 
making each man his own Saviour. But not so. No 
man can save himself, for no man, in the spiritual 
sense, can shed his own blood, or kill himself. There 
must be a priest, as well as a sacrifice, as was illus- 
trated in the law. The priest killed the beast, by 
shedding its blood. It is true that in the spiritual 
application of this subject man becomes a co-worker 
with Christ, but only to the extent that the work of 
sacrifice has been done in him, by the Lord him- 
self ; and as before intimated all these sacrifices are 
made in the Name, and by the Spirit of Christ, so 
that the whole work of saving men is truly by the 
sacrifice of Christ. And inasmuch as Christ, in his 
humanity, stood as the Representative of all man- 
kind, his personal sacrifice being fully accomplished, 
by the Divine Spirit within him, it became the 
prophecy, and the security, of a sacrificed, and there- 
fore saved mankind. Oh! that men could see this 



THE BOD Y OF SIN. 165 

truth ! Then they could see that life comes by means 
of death; (that is, spiritual life comes by death to 
sin); and also that inasmuch as Christ died for all, 
then all died, (2. Cor. v. 14, R. V.) and therefore in 
due time all will live unto God. It is gospel at the 
root, gospel at the top, and gospel all the way 
through. 

The Body of Sin, 

In pursuing the subject of blood-shedding, or the 
destruction of life, as a means of life or salvation, let 
us look at Rom. vi. 6: hi Knowing this, that our old 
man is crucified with Christ, that the body of sin might 
be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve 
sin." Notice this is a joint-crucifixion; we are cruci- 
fied with Christ, and not Christ crucified instead of us. 
No amount of ingenious reasoning can make this 
teach substitution. It is union in Christ that brings 
God and man together in harmony. This is the at- 
one-ment. But, practically, what must be destroyed 
in man in order to such atonement or reconciliation? 
Answer: " The body of sin. " The verse above quot- 
ed shows that this is the object of the crucifixion. 
"The old man is crucified with Christ, that the body 
of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should 
not serve sin." This is-the whole subject in a nut- 
shell, so far as relates to sin, the means of its remis- 
sion and destruction, and the consequent righteous- 
ness and harmony or oneness with the Lord. Growth 
will result. 

People. are too apt to think of the physical body, 
with its flesh and bones and blood. These are ex- 
ternal and are used according to the great Scriptural 
law of shadows. When the Apostle talks of the cru- 
cifixion of the flesh, and the destruction of the flesh, 
he is not referring to the physical body at all. Men 
are not to commit suicide, nor to mutilate the body, 
by cutting off hands and feet, or plucking out eyes. 



166 MOSES AND CHEIJST. 

Failing to see the true meaning of the Apostle and 
of Christ was and is the foundation of the old error 
of physical penance, instead of true repentance. It 
is the ' ' carnal mind ' ' which the Apostle calls the 
flesh. He declares it to be enmity itself, and that it 
cannot be subject to the law of God, and adds: " So 
then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. ' ' — 
See Rom. viii. 6-8, The thoughtful reader will see 
that he uses the terms ' ' flesh ' ' and ' ' carnal mind ' 
interchangeably. As it cannot be subject to the law 
of God, it must be destroyed. 

It is called a body, and it has various members. 
This the Apostle makes very plain in his letter to the 
Colossians, iii. 5 and onward: " Mortify [or kill] 
therefore your members, which are upon the earth; — 
[on the lower plane]; fornication, uncle&nness, inor- 
dinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetous- 
ness, which is idolatry. For which things' sake the 
wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedi- 
ence. " These, with "anger, wrath, malice, blas- 
phemy, etc, ' ' are the elements or members of the 
"old man;" and the " new man " has his members 
too: " bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of 
mind, meekness, and longsuffering, ,, and, the Apos- 
tle declares, is " Renewed in knowledge after the im- 
age of him that created him. " 

This carnal state, or "To be carnally minded, " the 
Apostle declares, " is death. " — Rom. viii. 6. Then 
to kill the body of sin is to kill death. It is indeed 
the death of death, the destruction of death, man's 
low state. This is the second death. The tw~o deaths 
are not of the same kind at all, as some good breth- 
ren maintain. They are opposites, just as the two 
Adams are opposite in their career. The first death 
is the death into sin, or the development of the body 
of sin, which came by the first Adam; and the second 
death is the death of the body of sin, which is the 
work of the Second Adam. Yes, sin is the victim; 



THE BODY OF SIN. 167 

and its destruction results in life and salvation to man. 

Atonement in the type (see Lev. xvi.) was by blood 
and fire, — the shedding of the blood, to kill the beast, 
and the fire to consume its body. There is more truth 
than many suppose in the common motto of the Sal- 
vation Army — ' ' Blood and Fire ; ' ' yea more than the 
Army itself dare to think. It is God's way, his only 
way, of saving mankind from sin. He kills the body 
of sin, by shedding its blood, and then he consumes 
the dead remains, by the fires of his judgment — in 
the process of regeneration. 

As the life of the physical body is in the blood, 
and as the shedding of the blood kills the body; anal- 
ogy requires that the way to kill the body of sin is 
to shed its blood. The blood is the life. "■ It is the 
blood that maketh atonement for the soul. " The de- 
struction of the spirit of sin, reconciles the soul to 
God, and the new life, the Spirit of Christ, flows in 
and gives a new and immortal energy to every power 
of the man proper. 

It is on account of this carnal life-principle that 
men are called " The children of the wicked one,'' — 
" the wicked. " The wicked, all the wicked, must be 
destroyed. But the destruction of the body of sin, 
or the man of sin, by which men are the children of 
the devil, restores ail to the image of him who cre- 
ated us, as shown in Colossians iii. Men originally 
and essentially are the sons of God, and by the great 
sacrifice and new life of Christ, the sin principle is 
destroyed, and the race of man is brought into glori- 
ous harmony with God. 

How grandly true it is that the shedding of blood 
is essential to the remission of sin, and that death is 
essential to life. With this view of the case, without 
encumbering the mind with the idea of God needing 
to be reconciled to man, we can appreciate the words 
of Isa. lv. 7: "Let the sinner forsake his way, and 
the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him re- 



168 MOSES AND CHBIST. 

turn unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon 
him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. " 
Men cannot be saved in sin, but from sin; not merely 
from external acts, but the sin nature must be de- 
stroyed. Its blood must be shed and its body burned; 
and Christ, as a Priest, alone can do this work. 

The Great Sacrifice. 

In following up the subject of the shedding of 
blood, the subject of Sacrifice naturally suggests it- 
self for consideration. The sacrifices for sin, or sin- 
offerings, both in the type and antitype, are intimate- 
ly connected w r ith the shedding of blood for the re- 
mission of sin. We think it has been clearly shown 
that God will not remit or pardon sin while it is a 
living, active principle in the life. Sin must be re- 
pented of in order to pardon, and killed, in order to 
its blotting out. This was illustrated in that type of 
the law where the priest shed the blood of the beasts, 
first the bullock and then the goat, and then caused 
their dead bodies to be destroyed by fire. — See Lev. 
xvi. That which was killed was never restored; and 
this complete destruction of the beast was the means 
of the atonement. 

What, then, did the beast represent? of what was 
it a type? The general answer is that the beast w T as 
a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. This answer is true, 
and yet not true. It is true as the Scriptures teach 
it, but as commonly thought of, it is not true. 

Here we would move carefully and reverently, lest 
we be misunderstood, and so cause needless offense 
to some soul trusting in Christ for salvation. To all, 
we say: Trust him fully. You cannot trust him too 
much. He alone can save you: and he will make you 
more than conqueror. But there are many who have 
been led to see the weakness, the absurdity and in- 
justice of the common view of this great subject of 
sacrifice for atonement, in which the innocent is rep- 



THE GREAT SACRIFICE. 169 

resented as suffering instead of the guilty, and God's 
wrath as being quenched with literal blood; and for 
their sake we venture to assert our conception of the 
subject, in hope of saving some from drifting from 
the old extreme away to the other, which rejects the 
whole doctrine of atonement in and through Christ. 

True, and yet not true! Yes, indeed; the Scriptur- 
al teaching is true, but the popular conception of it- 
is not true. In order to ascertain how, or in what 
sense, the beast represented Christ, we must know 
the relation that Christ sustained to the subject of 
atonement. What is the sacrifice needed ? What 
must be destroyed in order to atonement? Answer: 
Sin. It is sin that stands between man and God. Not 
merely sin as an act, but sin as a principle in our nat- 
ure ! It is the enmity. It is the body of sin whose 
blood must be shed, and so destroyed. This alone 
can bring peace and harmony between God and man. 
To accomplish this Christ came. How can it be ac- 
complished? How can he fulfill the type of the beast, 
which was utterly destroyed, and so make atone- 
ment? What, we ask again, does the beast repre- 
sent? Who can fail to see that it represents that which 
must be destroyed — that is, the body of sin? 

When Paul says: "Knowing this, that our old man 
is crucified with Christ, that the body of mn might be 
destroyed/' (Rom. vi. 6), what force could there be 
in such a crucifixion with Christ unless his crucifix- 
ion had reference to the same end — the death of sin? 
Or what meaning could there be in the next verse 
which says: " For he that is dead is freed from sin?" 
Was Christ freed from sin by death? In some sense 
he must have been, or the words would be without 
meaning. And this idea is not gained by mere infer- 
ence. The tenth verse asserts it: " For in that he 
died, he died unto sin once, but in that he liveth, he 
liveth unto God." Some have endeavored to modify, 
we might say weaken, this statement by translating 



170 MOSES AND CUBIST. 

it, "In that he died, he died by sin, etc." But the 
whole passage shows that the old translation is cor- 
rect; as for instance, the question: " How can we that 
are dead to sin live any longer therein?" This shows 
that the point is, leaving the sin state. This is con- 
firmed by the eleventh and following verses, the ex- 
hortation of which is based on the statement of the 
tenth verse, that Christ died to sin: "Likewise reck- 
on ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but 
alive unto God, through [or in] Jesus Christ our Lord. 
Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that 
ye should obey it in the lusts thereof." 

But it will be asked, Does not this make out that 
Christ was a sinner? — for how could he die to sin if 
he were not a sinner? No; we do not think for a mo- 
ment that Christ was a sinner; if he had been, he 
could not have been the Saviour of sinners. The 
Scriptures assert that he was "holy, harmless, and 
undefiled." The writer to the Hebrews says He 
* ' Was in all points tempted like as we are, yet with- 
out sin." — Heb. iv. 15. But if the above position, 
based on Rom. vi., teaches that Christ was a sinner, 
it is the Apostle that so taught. We have simply 
quoted his words. To some it may seem that the 
Apostle contradicted himself, but we do not so re- 
gard it. 

Then how could he die to sin, and not have been a 
sinner? We regard the passage, in Heb. iv. 15, as 
having a bearing on the true* answer. He was tempt- 
ed, but did not sin; that is, he did not yield to tempta- 
tion; he overcame. He afterward said himself: " To 
him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in 
my throne, even as I also overcame, etc." — Rev. iii. 21. 
Then there was an element in his nature on which 
temptation could be based, the promptings of which, 
if yielded to, would have made him a sinner. Many 
think it no great difficulty that he obeyed the will of 
his Father, and did not yield to temptation. And 



THE OBEAT SACBIFICE. 171 

they think and talk of the physical sufferings of 
Christ, as if they were the essential means of man's 
salvation. Well, does not Peter say that " Christ 
hath suffered for us in the flesh?" — 1, Pet. iv. 1. Yes, 
he does; but read the. verse carefully and see that he 
uses the term " flesh," and therefore the term " suf- 
fering, " in the deeper sense. The " flesh" in the 
Apostolic teaching means the carnal nature. To suf- 
fer physical pain does not cause men to cease from 
sin; and to die a physical death does not free or jus- 
tify men from sin. But with the deeper meaning of 
the words, " flesh " and " death," there is great im- 
port in the words: " He that hath suffered in the flesh, 
hath ceased from sin;" and in the statement: "He 
that is dead [to sin — to the carna] nature] is freed [or 
justified] from sin." — Rom. vi. 7. The use the Apos- 
tle makes of the words " sin " and "carnal," in the 
above passage, and in Rom. viii. 6, 7, leads us to 
think that he regarded them as synonymous. Not 
that the word sin ahvays refers to the carnal nature; 
it often refers, (as when he tells us that Christ did 
not sin,) to actual transgression; but the term sin is 
also used in the sense of a principle in the nature that 
must be overcome, mortified, crucified, put to death, 
in order to the atonement, and the consequent per- 
fection of the spiritual nature. 

That Christ had our nature in the sense mentioned, 
and that it was here his great conflict and suffering 
lay, are evident from Hebrews ii. 18: "For in that 
he himself hath suffered being tempt ed, he is able to 
succor them that are tempted." And it is evident 
that the true light on the atonement, and remission 
of sin, by the sacrifice of Christ, will never be seen 
until the cross, the sufferings, the crucifixion and the 
death of Christ are seen and understood in the light 
of the deeper sense of " flesh," as used in the Apos- 
tles' writings. 

In 2. Corinthians v. 21, the Apostle gives us the 



172 MOSES AND CHRIST. 

very truth above stated: " For he [God] hath made 
him [Christ], who knew no sin, to be sin for us; that 
we might be made the righteousness of God in him. ' ' 
Many have sought to modify and weaken this state- 
ment by making it: " To be a sin-offering for us." 
True; he was a sin-offering, but there is no such 
word there in either Greek or English. He was 
made sin, \]iamartia\. But the truth is, he could not 
have been a sin-offering, except by being made sin, 
for, as we have seen, sin was the necessary victim. 
The sacrifice and death of sin, in the sense of the car- 
nal or lower nature, which Paul calls ' ' the enmity, ' ' 
is the very thing that is required to make atonement, 
or reconciliation with God. 

The last three verses of 2. Corinthians v. give us 
the substance of our whole thought of the plan of 
salvation — the Great Sacrifice and its consequences. 
God was in Christ; Man [the world of mankind] was 
in Christ. Christ stood for the whole race, — (not in- 
stead of them, but, far better, they in him), — he hav- 
ing taken upon himself their nature, — made sin for 
them. The object was the reconciliation of the world, 
and the means of it, the destruction of sin. Do not 
forget that Sin is the victim — the body of sin. Hence 
he bore oar sin in his own body to the tree— to the 
cross, to the death. He taketh away the sin of the 
world. The outward, or physical death is but the 
shadow of the reality, but yet it cannot be doubted 
that in his case [not so with all others] his inward vic- 
tory was complete at the time he died on the cross. 
So when he died to sin, in him all died, and when he 
rose, the world's sin, in him, was destroyed. In this 
light we see a fullness of meaning in the words that 
"He died for our sins, and rose for [on account of] 
our justification. '' The world in him were reconciled 
to God. And the great fact, wrought in Christ for us, 
is and always will be the great motive to a personal 
reconciliation, until what was done in him for all the 



TUB GREAT SACRIFICE. 173 

world will be by him as our Great High Priest car- 
ried out in all the world. God was in Christ, recon- 
ciling the world, by destroying the world's sin which 
he had assumed; therefore, Be ye reconciled to God. 

In the type of Leviticus xvi, there w^ere a leading 
sacrifice, and a following sacrifice. The first was the 
bullock, and the second was the goat. Is it not 
strange that teachers will tell us that they both rep- 
resented the Lord Jesus. There was time and order 
between the two sacrifices. But the priest did with 
the blood of the goat what he had done before with 
the blood of the bullock. If the first represented 
the destruction of the lower nature in Christ, (by 
which sufferings he was made perfect, — Heb. ii. .1.0 
and v. 8, 9), then, in the light of the New Testameni, 
the latter sacrifice represented the same kind of work 
in the followers of Christ. They fill up what is be- 
hind in his afflictions. They suffer with him. They 
are crucified with Christ. What was done in him for 
others, must be done by him as a Priest in all his fol- 
lowers. Had the teachers of Christendom seen the 
true character of the victim, (the beast representing 
the lower nature), they would never have thought of 
making all the beasts refer to Christ. 

If it be remembered that the beast is a type of the 
lower nature, and that it is the destruction of 
the beast, not the destruction of the priest, 
that makes atonement, some may get out of 
the confusion of saying that the Great Sacrifice con- 
sisted in Christ leaving his pre-existent ' glory with 
the Father — that that was his death. The plausible 
ground of that inference is that this lower state into 
which Christ came, is called death. But admitting 
that Christ died, by his coming in the flesh, or "be- 
ing made sin for us," though the Scriptures nowhere 
call that his death, — it should be remembered that 
that was only accepting a share in the first death, death 
into the sin state, or away from God; but the saving 



174 MOSES AND CUBIST. 

death or sacrifice, is the death of sin, the death out 
of sin, the death of death. It is this death that rec- 
onciles men to God. Will not our brethren see? 

The Great Sacrifice, let it be understood, includes 
in its final completeness, the absolute destruction of 
sin and enmity, and everything that is necessarily 
connected with them. And whoever can see the 
true nature of the Victim, which God is determined 
to destroy, will have no difficulty in seeing God's 
universal love for mankind; his hatred of sin, because 
he loves mankind; and that God in Christ will not bo 
satisfied until all are reconciled. 

The grandest wonder of God's plan is that when 
he is killing the enmity, he is giving his Spirit, and 
so making men alive in Christ. 

Atonement in Type, 

Moses wrote of Christ when he gave the law of 
atonement — in type. The account of the work of 
the atonement day — the tenth day of the seventh 
month — is given in Leviticus xvi. Jesus taught that 
every " jot and tittle " of the law must be fulfilled, 
(Matt. v. 18,) which shows that -they all mean some- 
thing; and they can only be fulfilled by the coming 
of that to which they point. And yet it should be 
remembered that ' ' The law is a shadow of good things, 
and not the very image of the things." — Heb. x. 1. 
Earthly things cannot fully and accurately represent 
spiritual realities. The shadow is never as distinct 
in its outline as the substance. 

Let us consider the high priest and the beasts which 
were used in the day of atonement. It appears clear, 
as held by many Christians, that the high priest was 
a type of our Lord Jesus as to his divine nature. 
The beasts as clearly represented humanity in sever- 
al phases — his and ours. Five beasts were used in 
the atonement work — a bullock, two goats, and two 
rams. The priest disposed of all the beasts. The 



A TO Nil] ME NT IN TYPE. 1 75 

bullock was first slain for a sin-offering for Aaron 
and his house, and with this was coupled one of the 
rams for a burnt-offering". Then followed the slay- 
ing of the Lord's goat for a sin-offering for the peo- 
ple — "all the congregation of Israel," — and with 
this was coupled the other ram for a burnt-offering. 
Last of all came the scapegoat work — to complete 
the atonement. 

Many Christians take no account of the number of 
beasts used in making the typical atonement, nor of 
the order of the work; yet all must be fulfilled in the 
antitype — the real work of atonement. Some think 
that all the beasts represent the Lord Jesus, and 
that the sin-offering means dying on the Roman cross, 
and nothing more. But the order of the sacrifices, — 
there being two distinct sin-offerings,— the goat fol- 
lowing the bullock, and each having its own burnt- 
offering, — and reading these things in the light of 
New Testament fulfillments, have led us to regard 
the bullock alone as representing that in Jesus which 
had to be destroyed, and to hold that the goat to be 
slain represented the same element in those who 
follow Christ. 

It is evident that in Christ and his followers there 
are two phases of sacrifice: (1) the sacrifice unto 
death, or the destruction of the body of sin; and (2) 
the "living sacrifice," or the sacrifice of acceptable 
service, (Rom. xii. 1), which is a sweet smelling savor 
unto God. The first phase in type was represented 
by the death of the bullock and the Lord's goat, 
whose blood was shed to secure their death, and 
whose bodies were carried away from the holy place, 
— as worthless, as refuse, not even allowed to be 
kept in the camp of Israel, — to be utterly consumed 
" without the camp;'" and he that burned them was 
treated as if he had been handling an unclean thing, 
until he was washed. (Lev. xvi. 27, 28.) But the 
second phase of sacrifice, — the sacrifice of service, — 



176 IfOSfiS AND CHRIST. 

was represented by the two rams, whose bodies were 
burned (not without the camp, but) on " the altar of 
burnt-offering-," in the holy place. In the law as to 
offerings made by fire, they are spoken of as "a 
sweet savor unto the Lord," (Lev. i. 9, 13, 17); and 
of the sin-offerings, only the fat was to be burned on 
the altar in the holy place. 

The one phase of sacrifice is destruction, and the 
other is service. The one is secured by crucifixion, 
or the shedding of blood, and the other by eating- 
and drinking of the life-giving elements, that we 
may put on the new man, and grow up in the likeness 
of Christ — our living Head. It appears evident that 
the two phases of sacrifice are simultaneous in the 
exx3erience of those who follow Him. 

It appears that the death of the bullock repre- 
sented the sacrifice of Jesus, beginning at his baptism 
and culminating at his death on the cross. The shed 
blood is an evidence of death — or of the complete- 
ness of the sacrifice — both in type and antitype. Ac- 
cording to the apostle's statement, in Hebrews xiiL 
11, 12, it appears that the sufferings and reproach of 
Jesus, in all his life outside the popular " camp " of 
Israel, and including his crucifixion " without the 
gate, ' ' were all represented by the burning of the 
body of the bullock " without the camp;" and verse 
18 shows that w T e are to follow him in these, even as 
the goat followed the bullock, as already shown. 
From verses 15, 16, it appears that prayer, praise, 
thanksgiving, and doing good to others, are all count- 
ed as the well-pleasing sacrifices, which were typi- 
fied by the burning of the lambs on God's holy altar. 

Inasmuch as when the lower nature and its body 
were destroyed, as typified by the shedding of the 
blood of the beast and the disposition of its body by 
fire, God gave the higher nature and a spiritual body, 
it follows that the ascension of Jesus into the holiest, 
and thus presenting himself before the Father, was the 



A TONEMENT IN TYPE. 177 

best evidence that the sacrifice required by the Fa- 
ther was complete. In the type, the completeness 
of the sacrifice was show T n by the presentation of the 
blood at the mercy-seat in the most holy place. For 
this reason, it appears evident that the shed blood 
presented before God in the holiest, was the type of 
the ascension of Jesus in his spiritual body to the 
Father. Such ascension really means coming up to 
the Father's condition. 

As our Lord Jesus is the Head and Leader of his peo- 
ple, and as therefore what was done in him personal- 
ly is to be carried out in them, another sacrifice in 
type was provided. There were two goats — the 
' ' Lord's goat," and the " Scapegoat. " And let it 
be repeated as a fact worthy of special attention, 
though commonly overlooked, that the Lord's goat 
followed the bullock in sacrifice, in the sprinkling of 
the blood within the vail, and in the disposition of the 
body " without the camp." And the best evidence 
that the sacrifice of the Lord's goat represented the 
sacrifice of the Lord's people, is that the relation 
betw r een the bullock and the goat, as leader and fol- 
lower, is exactly the relation between Christ and his 
followers. The Christian ideal is to follow Christ in 
the way of sacrifice up to a share in his glory. This 
is not an ungrounded inference, but is variously 
stated in the Word. "Ye' shall indeed drink of my 
cup, " says our Lord, " and be baptized w r ith my bap- 
tism. " This does not mean merely the symbolic cup 
and baptism; for it was long after he and they had 
been baptized in water, that he said: " I have a bap- 
tism to be baptized with, and how I am straitened 
until it be accomplished. "—Matt. xx. 23. It was the 
baptism of suffering and death to which he referred. 
And the Apostle speaks of Christ's followers as be- 
ing "baptized into his death;" as having "fellow- 
ship with his sufferings;" and being " made conform- 
(12) 



178 MOSES AND CHEIST. 

able unto his death. " — Rom. vi. 3 and Phil. iii. 1.0. 
They " fill up what is behind in his afflictions ;" and 
even -"go forth unto him without the camp, bear- 
ing- his reproach." — Col. i. 24 and Heb. xiii. 12, 13. 

These things refer, practically, to taking up the 
cross daily, and following Christ in self-denial, resist- 
ance of temptation, crucifying the flesh, and in bear- 
ing the necessary reproach of such a life. It is the 
reproach of Christ. The Christian covenants to do 
all this, and the covenant is properly symbolized in 
water baptism. And in carrying out this pledge in 
actual life, there is all the needed encouragement in 
the many promises akin to this: " If we suffer [with 
him], we shall also reign with him." — 2. Tim. ii. 12.- 
And in view of all these facts, who can doubt that, as 
the bullock was a type of our Lord in his sacrifice, 
the " Lord's goat " was a type of the Lord's Church 
in its sacrifice? 

As soon as Jesus was exalted to the glory of his 
Father, as typified by the sprinkling of the shed 
blood in the form of a cross in the holiest, (showing 
the sacrifice complete and accepted), the Holy Spirit 
came upon the Church at Pentecost in the name of Je- 
sus. Of the presence of this Spirit with the Church, 
Jesus says: " Lo, I am with you always;" and Paul 
speaks of it as " Christ in you." The purpose of 
this presence of the Spirit, is to enable the Church 
to follow her Head in the sacrifice mentioned. Then 
this work of the Spirit, or "Christ in us," (Rom. 
viii. 9, 10), must be the antitype of the priest killing 
the goat; and the sacrifice in process covers the 
whole gospel age, or until the exaltation of the saints 
to glory, in fulfillment of carrying in the blood, as 
in the case of Christ. 

The first or leading sacrifice is said to be "for Aaron 
and his house," — that is, in antitype, Christ and the 
Church; and the second or following sacrifice was 
"for the people," — representing the world of man- 



ATONEMENT IN TYPE. 1TD 

kind. After the sprinkling of the blood of the bul- 
lock, the next verse says : ' ' Then shall he [the priest] 
kill the goat of the sin-ofiering, that is for the people, 
and bring his blood within the vail, and, [mark this 
well] do with that blood as he did with the blood of 
the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy-seat and 
before the mercy-seat. " 

As alter the ascension of Christ, the Spirit was 
poured upon a few, the Church, ' ' the servants and 
hand-maidens," so after the ascension of the saints, 
as the first-fruits unto God and to the Lamb, the 
same Spirit, instead of being taken away from the 
world, will be poured upon " all flesh." This is the 
Divine method of reaching the whole world by the 
saving power of his Spirit. It is the Church first, 
and the world afterw r ards. 

Very few indeed seem to have any idea of God's 
order, and that there were two distinct sin-offerings 
in the typical day of atonement. And there must be 
two also in the antitype, as not a jot or tittle of the 
law can pass away without fulfillment. Many know 
that there were two goats used,— one killed, and one 
that escaped alive, — but the bullock is commonly 
left out of the count. They say that the slain goat 
represents Christ's sacrifice; but it should be re- 
membered that the slain goat was not the sin-offering, 
though it was a sin-offering. It was not even the 
leading sacrifice: it followed an example. The bul- 
lock was the great leading sacrifice. After the priest 
had killed it, the law required that c ' He shall take 
of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his 
finger upon the mercy seat eastward; and before the 
mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his 
finger seven times." — Lev. xvi. 14. And then, as 
we have seen, he must do the same with the goat. 

This order of events proves that the slain goat did 
not typify the great leading sacrifice made by the 
Lord Jesus. The slain bullock represented that. 



■180 MOSBS AND CHRIST. 

But it also proves that the popular idea of Jesus be- 
ing the only sin- offering is a fallacy, because the fol- 
lowing sacrifice of the goat was also a sin-offering.— 
Verse 15. 

The order of events in relation to the two sacri- 
fices also disproves an idea urged by some, that both 
goats represented the Lord Jesus — the first repre- 
senting his death, and the other his escape out of 
death. This has taken hold of a certain class with- 
out much thought. It will be considered later. But 
if any still cling to the idea that the slain goat was a 
type of the dead Christ, they should feel bound to 
show who or what was represented by the bullock, 
whose previous sacrifice was the rule or example of 
the sacrifice of the goat. 

There is evident light on these two sacrifices in 
the fact that the bullock was offered ' ' for Aaron and 
his house, " and the goat " for the people." The two 
included the whole nation of Israel, and there is no 
doubt that, in relation to the atonement, that nation 
was used to represent the whole world — the race of 
natural men. Otherwise, the atonement was only 
for Israel; but the New Testament shows plainly 
that it was for the whole world. (John i. 29.) In 
the higher relationship, Israel represented the 
Church — saved men. 

We know by apostolic teaching that the work of 
Christ is to reconcile the world to God. (2. Cor. v. 
19.) As a means to that great end, the Church is 
called out first. And through them, and as a result 
of their exaltation, the w T orld is to be reached af ter- # 
ward. And as it is clearly revealed in the New Tes- 
tament that the Church is to follow Christ, to fill up 
the measure of his sufferings, and to be conformed 
unto his death, it is evident that the sacrifice of the 
bullock represented the great leading sacrifice made 
by the Lord Jesus, and that the sacrifice of the goat 
represented the following sacrifice of the true Church, 



THE SCAPEGOAT. 181 

together constituting ' ' The Great Sacrifice ' ' for the 
salvation of the world. 

Some think that as the first sacrifice was for 
" Aaron and his house, " it therefore includes, in its 
antitype, the sacrifice of both Christ and the Church, 
and that the slain goat therefore represents the sac- 
rifice of the world. This, of course, would not weak- 
en our claim that the world will be reconciled to God. 
But it does not seem necessary to so apply it in or- 
der to reach the world. For, whether in this or in 
any coming age, whenever a man is led to crucify 
the flesh, he is of the Church, and not of the world; 
and the work of killing sin must go on until all are 
gathered into Christ. — Eph. i. 10. The sacrifice of 
the goat must include, as a type, the killing of sin in 
all, the followers of Christ; and that surely includes 
the saints of this age. 

One thought that comes forcibly in connection 
with this subject, is, that, while the sacrifice made 
by any person results in his own exaltation, still it 
is not especially for himself, but for others. The 
great law of Christianity is self-denial for the good 
of others. The Divine method or process of sacri- 
fice is in this order: Christ Jesus for the Church, and 
the Church for the world. We must not think of our 
salvation as the end, but as the means for the salva- 
tion of others. It is not selfishness, but benevolence, 
that manifests the nature and character of God. 

The Scapegoat. 

The Scapegoat (Heb. Azazel) is the goat that 
escaped — that was not accepted, and therefore did 
not die, as a sin-offering. Its blood was not shed for 
the remission of sin, though its being sent away was 
necessary to complete the work of atonement. The 
question is: Of whom, or of what, was the scape- 
goat a type? 

There are several answers to this question, by 



182 MOSES AND CHBIST. 

different interpreters. " Some regard it [Azazel] as 
a designation of the goat itself; some as the name 
of the place to which he was sent; and others as the 
name of a personal being to whom he was sent. 
Tholuck and other critics render the word ' for com- 
plete sending away.' Ewald considers Azazel to 
have been a demon belonging to the pre-Mosaic re- 
ligion. Another opinion identifies him with Satan, 
or the devil. Milton makes him Satan's standard- 
bearer. ' ' — Webster. 

Some hold that the scapegoat was a type of Satan. 
We do not endorse this view, though in some re- 
spects it appears more reasonable than some others. 
Milton's idea of its being Satan's standard-bear- 
er is nearer the truth, — though we would not apply 
it to an imaginary being in spirit life, but to a real, 
active system, or powerful hierarchy, bearing the 
standards of Satan in this world. ' ' For complete 
sending away " is a good idea, if we know just what 
the Lord sends away, — sin. 

Some hold that the scapegoat was a type of the 
world of mankind, sent away in their sins when the 
Church is saved, — though they believe the world 
will afterward be saved. A very common view is 
that the slain goat was a type of Christ in his death, 
and that " the scapegoat represented Christ rising to 
carry into effect the purposes of his death, in the act- 
ual forgiveness and justification of his believing peo- 
ple."— Scott 

But, though this view is endorsed by many more 
or less eminent teachers, there are several reasons 
why it is not satisfactory. 1. As already shown, 
Christ's death was typified by the leading sacrifice of 
the bullock, and not by a goat at all. 2. The scape- 
goat did not approach God, but was sent away into 
the wilderness under the curse of accumulated sin: 
but the risen Christ went into heaven, as represented 
by the high priest carrying the shed blood of the bul- 



THE SCAPEGOAT. 183 

lock into the holiest. Christ did not carry sin into 
heaven. He took our sin upon himself by taking our 
lower nature, but it was destroyed in his sacrifice, 
and he therefore rose free from the load, — " for [on 
account of] our justification. ' ' The shed blood car- 
ried in did not typify wm, but the death of sin. 3. As 
the slain goat was " for the Lord," it is evident that 
the scapegoat was not for the Lord, but for an oppo- 
site power. But surely the risen Christ was "for 
the Lord, '.' as much at least, as the dead Christ. 4. 
The scapegoat work was far too late in the atone- 
ment day to be a type of the ascension of Christ. It 
is connected with the final end of sin. 

In view of this contrast, — the goat going in an op- 
posite direction from the risen Christ, — the goat 
burdened with sin and the risen Christ entirely free 
from it, — and with no points of similarity, it seems 
evident that the scapegoat w T as not a type of Christ 
in any sense whatever. There is a death that is a 
success: — it brings to God. There is an escape that 
is fatal:- — it drives away from God, as the scapegoat 
was driven or sent away, and never heard of more. 

Then of what is the scapegoat a type? With due 
respect for the opinions of others, we express the 
conviction that the scapegoat is a type of the great 
Babylon church-system of the book of Revelation, 
which, having served its purpose, is no longer need- 
ed, and goes down, as a mill-stone cast into the sea, 
to rise no more. All w r e ask is that this view be con- 
sidered in the light of the facts. 

There were two goats; [Scott says the Hebrew 
word, Azazel, means a sJie-gvat sent away. The two 
goats w r ere probably of the same kind.] one was "for 
the Lord," (Lev. xvi. 8), and the other was not. The 
Lord's goat represented the true Church — the Lord's 
system, and standard-bearer in the world. It is com- 
posed of those who follow the Lord in sacrifice. It- 
represents Christ, its Head, in the w^orld. But Satan, 



184 MOSES AND CHRIST. 

too, has a church-system in the earth; and our claim 
is, that the relation of the two goats in the court, the 
place of sacrifice and of washing, was a type or shad- 
ow of the relation of the two church-systems, the 
true and the false. Both goats stood before the Lord 
as if ready for sacrifice, but only one followed the 
leader. So both churches profess to be the Lord's, 
(the espoused virgin, his prospective bride), but one 
is not. The one is elect, (the "lot" being a Bible 
method of revealing God's choice:—" The lot is cast 
into the lap, but the whole disposing thereof is of 
the Lord. " — Prov. xvi. 33.) and having the Spirit, 
the indwelling Christ, she follows him in sacrifice; 
the other is the Lord's church only in name—a fraud, 
a sham, a counterfeit. It is true she makes loud pre- 
tensions, (Rev. xvii. 3), has great political power, 
(Ver. 18), great religious influence, (Ver. 2), great 
cruelty, (Ver. 6), and great confidence and pride, 
(Rev. xviii. 7); but as the scapegoat went away under 
the load of accumulated sin, (Lev. xvi. 21, 22), so 
Babylon goes down no more to rise, all the blood of 
saints and prophets slain upon the earth being found 
in her. — Rev. xviii. 20-24. The Head of the true 
Church (the Lord's goat) is Christ, and the head of 
the false Church (the scapegoat) is Satan repre- 
sented on the earth by a man, claiming to be the 
head of Christ's Church. 

It must be admitted that this false church-system 
(Babylon — confusion) has been side by side with the 
Lord's true Church in the history of the dispensa- 
tion. Would it not be strange if a system which has 
acted such a prominent part in the program should 
not be found in the picture? That system [No refer- 
ence is here made to God's people in Babylon, whom 
he calls out, (Rev. xviii. 4), but only to the false sys- 
tem itself.] is as surely Satan's standard-bearer, 
as the true Church is the Lord's standard-bearer. 
And at the time the true Church is exalted to glory, 



THE SCAPEGOAT. 185 

(typified by the goat's blood being carried into the 
holiest, even as Christ's ascension was typified by 
the carrying in of the bullock's blood), Babylon falls. 
There is no good in that system, though many of 
God's people have been and still may be in it. It is 
not of God, and it cannot be regenerated. This fact 
is illustrated by the escape of the goat from blood- 
shedding, which is for the remission of sin, and paves 
the way for regeneration. This escape is most ter- 
rible! That false church-system is the counterfeit of 
God's true Church, and is therefore the masterpiece 
of Satan's workmanship. And all his works must 
be destroyed! No redemption for them! All God's 
works — though for a time obscured or perverted by 
sin — will finally be saved. To this end are the two 
great sacrifices, typified by the bullock and goat, — 
the first for the priesthood, and the second for the 
people, with all the incidental or accompanying sac- 
rifices. The devil's work in all its forms is but tem- 
poral, and must perish. On the head of the scape- 
goat, whether in type or antitype, is the last remem- 
brance of sin. That completes its removal. 

It has been objected that Babylon cannot be the 
antitypical scapegoat, because it is to make atone- 
ment. Such an objection might have force if we be- 
lieved in substitution ; but in such a case, neither 
could we regard the Lord's goat as a type of the 
true Church. Of course, there is an important sense 
in which the whole work of atonement was complete 
in the personal work of Christ, but in application, it 
reaches the Church first, and the world afterward. 
And even in this sense, it is Christ, our great High 
Priest, who makes the atonement ; and it will not be 
complete till all sin is destroyed, and all mankind 
brought into harmony with God; — until his will is 
done in the earth as it is in heaven. This whole work 
is committed to Christ, whatever instruments he may 
use. And the removal of all obstacles is a part of the 



186 MOSES AND CHBI8T. 

atonement work. The carnal nature, sin in the flesh, 
must be destroyed by the shedding of its blood. 
Christ did that in himself, and he alone can do it in 
us. The latent elements of divine sonship must be 
developed in us. Only Christ, the quickening Spirit, 
can begin this life, and only Christ, as the living 
bread, can sustain it. Of him we must eat and drink 
in order to be cleansed and grow up into him. And 
in order that the truth of the gospel may reach the 
world, and they be reconciled to God through faith 
in Christ, the great, false, religious system — Babylon 
— must be removed. Its destruction must be accom- 
plished before the world can be brought to God. The 
divided church, and the sectarian spirit, must be 
done away in order that the world may believe in 
Christ. — John xvii. 20, 21. So the reign of Christ to 
put down all his enemies is to carry out his plan of 
reconciling the world to God. When all the devil's 
works are destroyed, then the whole world will be at 
one with God, and God shall be all in all.— 1. Cor. 
xv. 24-28. 

From this standpoint, who can fail to see that the 
destruction of Babylon is necessary in order to make 
atonement; and that for the same reason, the send- 
ing away of the scapegoat was necessary to com- 
plete the atonement in type? And yet, both in shad- 
ow and substance, the responsibility, and power, and 
credit, all belong to the High Priest who did and 
does the work. Happy are we if it is our privilege, 
as the chosen of God, to share in his grand and gra- 
cious work of bringing the world to himself. 

In addition to the above, we would suggest the 
thought, which appears harmonious, that the Lord's 
goat (or the Lord's Church) represents, and will in- 
clude, all who ever will follow the Lord in the volun- 
tary sacrifice of the sinful nature; and that the scape- 
goat (or the Babylon church-system) represents the 



THE SCAPEGOAT. 187 

sinful world, or all who do not voluntarily sacrifice 
the sinful nature. The former dies as a sin-offering, 
but the latter does not. The one cuts off or plucks 
out the offending hand or eye; the other goes into 
God's hell-fire — the fire of judgment — to have the sin 
burned out. The one is a voluntary sufferer with 
Christ, and will therefore have an intimate relation- 
ship with him in his priesthood and reign. The oth- 
er will have a place in God's kingdom, but not so 
near the throne, — his suffering on account of sin be- 
ing of a different kind. Like the two classes of build- 
ers, mentioned in 1. Corinthians iii. 11-15, one re- 
ceives a reward, and the other suffers loss, but him- 
self is saved, so as by fire. 

The Lord knows how to deal justly and mercifully 
with all; he knows just how much of obsti- 
nacy each one has, and how much chastisement is 
needed. And he also knows how much of obstinacy 
and wilfulness has been inherited, and how they have 
warped the will and the life. Such inheritance is a 
misfortune; but will not every misfortune, loss, and 
suffering find a recompense? Is not all suffering, 
connected as it is with God's plan of creating the 
race in his own image, in some degree the suffering 
of Christ? It must be so, if it can be overruled for 
anybody's good; and what cannot be so overruled 
has no reason for its existence in the Universe of a 
God of love. 

Therefore, in the light of the unlimited and end- 
less plan of God, (see Perfect Day), it is evident 
that not only the " little flock," who sit with Christ 
in his throne, but also the " great multitude," who 
serve God before the throne, and even those who 
shall be servants of servants, — including all who 
have ever sinned and suffered, — shall finally consti- 
tute one grand system to bless the generations to be 
born after all sin is done away. When this comes to 
be understood, no one will ever aerain resrret havincr 



188 MOSES AND CHRIST. 

lived and suffered,— whether of the elect or the non- 
elect, — whether represented in the atonement work 
by the slain goat or the scapegoat. An inspired man 
more than suggests that when, in the judgment by 
Christ, all lives and all motives shall be made mani- 
fest, " Every man shall have praise of God. " — 1, Cor. 
iv. 5. 

It appears evident that the Jewish nation (for 
whom the typical atonement was made) represented 
all classes of men — all the grades in the future king- 
dom of God. The high priest was a type of Christ 
himself. Then there was a lower order of priests, 
selected from the tribe of Levi. This priestly tribe 
appears to have been typical of the whole Church of 
Christ, and the selected priests, typical of the faith- 
ful few — the "little flock. " But the gradation did 
not stop there. The whole nation was chosen to be 
a kingdom of priests, (Exod. xix. 6); and if, as is 
evident, the tribe of Levi represented the whole 
Church, the other tribes (who in the atonement day 
had no part in the work, but were entirely outside of 
the holy ground) must have represented all the world 
— all the nations of suffering humanity. 

As the scapegoat work, though not a voluntary 
sacrifice, was necessary to complete the atonement 
in type, (Lev. xvi. 10, 21), so the destruction of Baby- 
lon, and the conquering of all God's enemies, even 
though by judgment, is necessary to complete the 
antitypical atonement — the great reconciliation. And 
all the sufferers on account of sin, when enlightened 
and reconciled, will be monuments of God's justice 
and love, for the benefit of the sinless generations 
beyond. 

The two goats, in the widest application, stand re- 
lated as the Church and the World. Babylon means 
confusion; all kinds of sin and confusion are found 
in the Babylon system (Rev. xviii.) and under their 
weight she goes down to rise no more. So all the 



WORD OF ENCOURAGEMENT. 189 

sin and confusion in the world, which she represents, 
must finally cease. Then Christ will see of the trav- 
ail of his soul (his sacrificial work) and be satisfied. 
And then, in the grandest sense, he will lay aside 
the linen garments of the day of sacrifice, and put on 
his garments of glory and beauty, and reign as King 
of Peace,— a Priest after the order of Melchizedek, 
based on the power of an endless life. And all the 
saved — all who have sinned and suffered— shall reign 
with him. 

Word of Encouragement. 

Our view of Atonement is not only theoretical or 
doctrinal, but eminently practical. It puts the stand- 
ard of practical and experimental religion high. 
While it teaches that all mankind will most certainly 
in due time be reconciled to (atoned or made one 
with) God, it also shows that this end cannot be at- 
tained without personal and practical holiness. And 
it also teaches that in order to share in the conquer- 
ing reign of Christ, the sacrifice of the body of sin, 
and consequent regeneration, must be accomplished 
now. There is therefore necessarily connected with 
these views a sense of responsibility to ..," Work out 
our own salvation with fear and trembling;" and yet 
not forgetting that ' ' It is God that worketh in us 
both to will and to do of his good pleasure." — Philip, 
ii. 12, 13. 

To be saved from sin is an intensely practical 
thing. It is not merely to have the righteousness of 
Christ imputed to us, (which also has its place in the 
plan), but also to have his righteousness imparted to 
us, so that it becomes ours in fact. And to have the 
mind opened and developed in the direction of spir- 
itual things, in the love of both truth and right, is a 
grand experience, — one which rises far above the 
sphere of mere morality. 

There are many sincere Christians, who on seeing 



190 MOSES AND CHRIST. 

the practical force of the great law of Christian sac- 
rifice, and seeing the great contrast between what 
they are, and what they should be, are inclined to be 
discouraged. They say: " That seems clear and true, 
but how am I ever to attain to such a resurrection. 
I am discouraged in view of the great distance be- 
tween me and what Chrtst is. " 

Well, we would not make that distance appear 
less; but yet we would give a word of encouragement 
to such. 1. It is a good sign that you see the con- 
trast. This is an evidence that the Lord by his Spir- 
it has taken hold of your mind, and has shown you 
both sin and righteousness. 2. It is an additional 
evidence that the good work is begun in you, because 
you care about this matter, — because you greatly de- 
sire to be like Christ. Those who are still dead in 
trespasses and sin, care for none of these things. So 
you have more hope of the crown of glory, than if 
you thought you were all right. 3. As long as there 
is a conscious warfare, a struggle between the flesh 
and spirit, it is good evidence that the beast is being 
taken to slaughter, by the hand of the Priest. Paul 
said that he had such a struggle, and that he found 
that with his mind he served the law of God, and with 
his flesh the law of sin. The beast (type of the body 
of sin) never dies willingly. It must be compelled 
to die; it must be killed. But, thank God! it is 
Christ's work, in us, to deliver us. The apostle cries 
out: " Oh, wretched man that I am! who shall deliv- 
er me from this body of death?" Then he answers: 
" I thank God, though Jesus Christ our Lord."— 
Rom. vii. 24, 25. This is encouragement for all who 
desire deliverance. 



THE GREAT REVELATION, 



OR 



GODS LOVE, PURPOSE AND PLAN 



BY JOHN H. PATON, 



Minister of the Gospkl, Author of " Day Dawn, or The Gospel in Type 

and Prophecy," " Moses and Christ, or The Plan of the World's 

Salvation," "The Perfect Day," and Publisher of 

" The World's Hope." 



ALMONT, — MICH. 

PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR. 



1896, 



• ~.~ •\ai-' '-'•• -«-■*£• .•«/>•;" .Ci'j- '■«■■&: ' -.; — Wv, 



AC 



>\ i 



PREFACE. 



This little book has been written with the knowledge that 
it presents a view of God's " Great Revelation " of His " Love, 
Purpose, and Plan," that has not been seen by the majority 
of Christians. It has not been written, however, in the spirit 
of contention or strife, but of love and goodwill for all, and 
of fellowship for all who love our Lord Jesus Christ, what- 
ever their view of his work may be. As said the Psalmist and 
an Apostle: " I believe, therefore have I spoken." The little 
book is sent forth with a firm conviction that it contains the 
substance of " the gospel of the grace of God." Its design is 
to lead men to study the Word of God; to aid them, if possible, 
to "grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus 
Christ;"— that they may think of God as the loving Father of 
all, and of Christ as an all-sufficient Saviour. In this world 
of toil and trouble— often of sadness and sorrow— whoever 
gives to people a better thought of our Heavenly Father and 
of human destiny, thereby helps to lift the dark cloud, and 
to increase the sum of human happiness and hope. This has 
been the object of this writing. That this may be the result, 
is the prayer of the AUTHOR. 



r 



CONTENTS 

OP THE GREAT EEVELATION. 

Chapter Page 

I. God's Love and Purpose— What is God's 

Purpose? . ........... . . 5 

II. The Plan of the Ages— God's Three 

Worlds-— Succession of Ages 20 

III. God's Plan Progressive— Natural Object- 

Lessons- — A Brief Review 35 

IV. God's Key of the Bible— Dark Passages 

Explainable — Letter and Spirit- 
Bible Harmony 47 

V. Gospel in Type— The Tabernacle — The Furni- 
ture — Priest and Sacrifices — The 
Beasts and Order of Work 57 

VI. Judgment and Punishment — All Judged in 
Christ — Order in Judgment — Object 
of the Judgment — Everlasting Punish- 
ment — Judgment of the Dead — De- 
struction and Salvation ,, ♦,,.»., 72 



THE GPAT REVELATION. 



CHAPTER I. 

{Z) god's love and purpose. 

TJYHAT <•< God is Love " will be admitted by all 
*w|J Christians. This truth is fundamental in the 

% Christian faith,— the keynote of a harmonious 

& theology. That God has a purpose in refer- 
ence to mankind, and that it is based on love, cannot 
reasonably be doubted. Love naturally seeks ex- 
pression in some supreme result; such result is love's 
object or purpose; and God's plan is the way, in- 
cluding all the necessary steps, by which the de- 
sired end will be gained. 

From our point of view, God's purpose — based on 
his love— is to create and perfect the race of man in 
His own image and likeness ; and his plan, or his 
way of accomplishing his purpose, includes the de- 
velopment and work of both Adam and Christ, as a 
revelation of Himself, and all the personal experi- 
ence, and the dispensational steps, necessary to the 
attainment of the object in view. 

These three things — God's love, his way of work- 
ing, and the end to be gained — are necessarily so re- 
lated that no one can realize his love more fully than 
he knows, and comes into sympathy with, his pur- 
pose and plan. Love cannot be known abstractly, 
but only as it is revealed in words and actions ; and 
actions speak louder than words. Ignorance of the 
Lord's purpose and plan causes many to misinterpret 
important facts, and statements of the Word, and to 
deny or belittle his love. 

That there are some severe and terrible things in 

5 



6 THE GREA T BE VELA TION. 

human experience no one can deny, and it is not al- 
ways easy to understand how they can be harmo- 
nized with infinite Love. If the bearing of these 
dark things on the revelation of God's love and the 
development of human character cannot be seen, it 
is well if people can rest in the assurance that ' ' He 
doeth all things well," and " Trust him where they 
cannot trace him. " This is the proper attitude of 
babes in Christ, and of all other Christians so far as 
the Lord has not revealed his ways ; but it is both 
the duty and privilege of Christians to grow in grace 
and in the knowledge of the Lord's ways, so far as 
revealed. It is not in accord with the spirit of such 
growth, to be indifferent about what the Lord has 
revealed, and to plead child-like trust as an excuse 
for such indifference. That kind of trust may be the 
result of spiritual laziness. 

Some, in view of the terrible things in human life, 
are inclined to ask : " If God is really Love, and is 
Almighty, why does he permit such dreadful things 
to occur ? " They, naturally enough, assume, what 
is not true, that love and severity are necessarily 
contrary to each other. It may be safely allowed 
that if the severe and terrible things were useless ; 
if the difficulties of life were eternally insurmounta- 
ble, and punishments hopeless, then severity would 
be contrary to love. But when people learn the im- 
portant truth, that all the difficulties and sufferings 
of life, and even punishments, are necessary to teach 
mankind the true lessons of life — their own weak- 
ness, their dependence on the Lord and one another, 
and how to form a godlike character, — then they will 
see that the .Lord's severity and love are in harmo- 
ny: that "Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth," 
" that we might be partakers of his holiness. " — Heb. 
xii. 5-11. 

We admit, what some urge as an objection to its 
universal application, that the above passage was 



GOD 9 8 LOVE AND PURPOSE. 7 

spoken to and of believers. Of course, only such as 
are to some extent spiritually developed, can appre- 
ciate this principle, or be truly "exercised thereby. " 
Only such are yet in Christ's judgment process. All 
others are yet in the unquickened condition, and 
therefore cannot know the Lord, nor be the subjects 
of chastisement. But their turn is coming ; for 
though the judgment begins with •• the house [the 
Church] of God," (L Pet. iv. 17), we are assured that 
in his day, Christ will judge the world, both the liv- 
ing andthe dead, and that judgment shall be unto 
victory. (Acts xvii. 31 ; 2, Tim. iv. 1 ; Matt. xii. 20.) 
Whether first or last, now or hereafter, the principle 
of Christ's judgment, and therefore of chastisement, 
is the same, because he is the same, yesterday, today 
and forever. (Heb. xiii. 8.) Punishment under the 
law r was unto death, but in the judgment by Christ 
it is a discipline, Sr means of purification. In wrath 
the Lord remembers mercy. (Hab. iii. 2.) We are 
forbidden to avenge ourselves, because in our weak- 
ness, we are liable to be unmerciful to our enemies ; 
but the Lord, in the infinite balance of justice and 
love, puhishes for the offender's good. He is both 
able and willing to forgive. The principle involved 
(which we need to' learn) is not to be overcome of 
evil, but to overcome evil with good, — to subdue all 
enemies by reconciling them. (Rom. xii. 20, 21; 1. 
Cor. xv. 25-28; Col. i. 20, 21.) Not until we have 
fully learned the lesson, and are made like him, shall 
we be competent to judge, and to deal with our ene- 
mies or his. (1. Cor. iv. 5; vi. 2.) 

In view of the truth that God is love, and the apos- 
tle's statement in above-named passage, that when 
all things are made manifest in the judgment, (the 
books being opened), " every man shall have praise 
of God, " may we not safely hold that the darkest 
and most terrible things in human experience have 
been permitted and will be overruled for spiritual 



8 THE GREA T BE VELA TION. 

and endless good? Suffering and affliction work glo- 
ry. (2. Cor. iv. 17.) People learn to know and sym- 
pathize with each other through common afflictions. 
The spirit of Christlike sympathy and benevolence 
is aroused and called forth by great calamities. This 
tends to the development of noble character, which 
shall shine forth in the Father's kingdom for the 
world's good. And when the people who suffered 
or died in the calamities, shall be brought to judg- 
ment, and obtain (from the opened books — the known 
results) the knowledge of their own relation to these 
results, will they not rejoice forever that they were 
permitted so to suffer? 

People not only learn to know their fellow-beings 
on account of suffering, but they also learn to know 
God by the same means. Man's need is what draws 
forth the divine sympathy and mercy. And if man 
were not a poor, weak, empty, helpless, sinful mor- 
tal, he could never know God in his attribute of for- 
giving mercy, in his helpful and life-giving capaci- 
ties, nor in his power to satisfy all cravings and fill 
all vacancies. " Man's necessity is God's opportuni- 
ty " to make himself known; and man's greatest pos- 
sibilities result from such knowledge. 

Nothing is more certain than that ignorance of 
God's purpose and plan obscures his love, and caus- 
es people to miss much of the light and comfort that 
come from an intelligent and hopeful faith. It is not 
surprising that even some devout thinkers reject. 
what some call the Plan of Salvation; because it real- 
ly appears more like a plan of damnation than of sal- 
vation, — a plan of death rather than a way of life. 
But the Bible plan is not one of which to be ashamed. 

As a means of confirming the assurance that God 
is love, let us consider the question:— 

What is God's Purpose? 

This question, be it observed, has reference to the 



WHAT IS GOD'S PUBPOSE? 9 

designed outcome of the plan,— the end, which he 
saw from the beginning. Isaiah shows that the Lord 
has a purpose, and that no power can prevent its ac- 
complishment. "The Lord of hosts hath 
purposed, and who shall disannul it ? " "The Lord 
of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have 
thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have pur- 
posed, so shall it stand." — Isa. xiv. 24, 27. 

This must be equally true of all that the Lord de- 
signs, whether of wrath or of mercy. Man may be 
disappointed, or he may change. The Lord may 
■" withdraw man from his purpose," (Job xxxiii. 17), 
but he says: " I am God, and there is none like me, 
declaring [through the prophets, —Amos. iii. 7], the 
end from the beginning, and from ancient times the 
things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel 
shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: * * I 
have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have 
purposed it, I will also do it." — Isa. xlvi. 9-11. 

That God's revealed purpose includes the gracious 
work of Christ, in the destruction of the works of 
the devil and the salvation of mankind, cannot rea- 
sonably be doubted. Speaking of Christ, as the man- 
ifestation of himself, God says: " The pleasure of 
the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of 
the travail of his soul and be satisfied." — Isa. liii. 10, 
11. Again: " So shall my word be that goeth forth 
out of my mouth: [Christ is the living Word — John 
i. 1-14; Rev. xix. 18] it shall not return to me void, 
but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it 
shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." — Isa. 
lv. 11. 

What strength and comfort these passages, and 
others like them, give to those who see that God's 
purpose includes the final salvation of all mankind! 
Since the Lord is good to all, and his tender mercies 
are over all his works, (Ps. cxlv. 9), how could any- 
thing short of absolute victory and blessing for all 



10 THE GEE AT REVELATION. 

be " the pleasure of the Lord," or satisfy his loving 
heart? 

Let no one be deprived of the comfort of believing 
in such a blessed outcome, on account of the obsta- 
cles mentioned in the Bible. The difficulties are very 
many and great. Ages are required for their re- 
moval. , As the work moves on through the conquer- 
ing ages, the ignorant must be disciplined and the 
obstinate severely punished,— few or many stripes 
according to their need. But the Lord takes all the 
obstacles and necessary punishments into account, 
and foretells the outcome of it all— the victory. Some 
think such a view of the result to be dangerous, dis- 
couraging to labor for the Lord; but Paul gave the 
certainty of success, the victory, as the motive to 
faithfulness in the face of all difficulties: "Foras- 
much as ye know that your labor is not in vain in 
the Lord."— 1. Cor. xv. 58. 

The purpose of God is stated in various ways. An 
important principle in his method of revelation is 
that the last things are told first. Seeing the end 
from the beginning, he declares it before telling of 
any of the steps, means, or conditions necessary to 
bring it about. The first intimation of the divine 
purpose, concerning the blessing of mankind, was in 
the form of a threatening against the serpent — man's 
enemy. It was addressed to the serpent: "Her seed 
shall bruise [crush] thy head. "—Gen. iii. 15. This 
was not a promise to the Woman, as some think, but 
was the gospel by implication, or negatively stated, 
as the destruction of man's enemy, (at least includ- 
ing the enmity, the carnal mind), implies the bless- 
ing of mankind. The gospel took the form of " the 
promise," or "the covenant," (Gal. iii. 16-19) when, 
two thousand years later, the Lord said to Abraham: 
"In thy seed shall all nations " — " kindreds " "fam- 
ilies " " of the earth be blessed." — Gen. xii. 3; xviii. 
18; xxii. 18; xxvi. 4; Acts iii. 25. 



WHAT IS GOD'S PUEPOSE? 11 

Let it be observed that neither in the threatening 
nor the promise is anything said of steps or condi- 
tions, elsewhere mentioned, without which the end 
could not be attained; but both the threatening and 
the promise show the end which the Lord foresaw, 
which proves the success of the means. In the New 
Testament we learn that the promised Seed, which 
is to do the work of destroying the serpent and bless- 
ing mankind, is Christ and all who are baptized into 
him. (Gal. iii. 16, 27-29.) The distinction between 
the Seed — chosen and developed under the conditions 
of the present gospel age — and the nations to be 
blessed by the Seed, ought not to be overlooked. 
This covenant made with Abraham does not refer to 
the calling of the Church in this age of election, but 
to their work in the ages to come. The purpose of 
God includes the salvation of the whole world, and 
the Church — the saints, the royal priesthood, who 
are to reign with Christ— are " the called according 
to [or with reference to] his purpose." — Rom. viii. 
28. The salvation of the believers of this age is 
therefore not the end, but an important means to the 
end — the salvation of the world. (John i. 29; iv. 42; 
1. John iv. 14.) 

The method of prophecy, telling the last things 
first, or the end rather than the means, is seen also 
in the book of Revelation. The way to bless the 
world is to remove the curse of sin and death, and 
John, foreseeing the end, says: u There shall be no 
more curse." — Rev. xxii. 3. The preceding verse 
shows that (not the Church only, but also) the na- 
tions are to be healed. ■- - " God shall wipe away all 
tears from their eyes; [Isa. xxv. 8 says " all faces,"] 
and there shall be no more death, [not merely no 
more dying, though that must be included, but death 
itself destroyed by resurrection], neither sorrow, nor 
crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the 
former things are passed away." — Ver. 4. Glorious 



12 THE GEE AT BEVELATION. 

consummation! — a sinless and deathless world! This 
must be the gospel, — the " good tidings of great joy, 
which shall be unto all people."— Luke ii. 10. To an- 
ticipate its fulfillment is to " rejoice in hope of the 
g]ory of God." 

If there shall be "no more pain," how can the 
doctrine of endless suffering be true? And if "no 
more pain ' ' means that none will be left in a state of 
suffering, then surely "no more death " means that 
none shall be left in the state of death; and if so, how 
can the doctrine of endless death be true? 

When this grand purpose, declared in the first and 
last Bible prophecies, is seen, many passages drop 
into line as glimpses of the coming day of light and 
gladness, which, when the purpose of God is not 
seen, are either ignored or their fullness is explained 
away. 

In Psalm xxii. 27, 28, we are told that all the ends 
of the world shall remember and turn to the Lord, 
(be converted), when the kingdom is the Lord's, and 
he is the Governor among the nations. This cannot 
be fulfilled during the antichristian reign of this age 
of election, for the kingdoms of this world do not be- 
come the Lord's until the sounding of the seventh or 
last trumpet. (Rev. xi. 15.) Paul shows that that 
is the trumpet at or during the sounding of which 
the Lord comes and the resurrection takes place. 
(1. Cor. xv. 52-55; 1. Thess. iv. 18-18.) It is there- 
fore vain to expect the conversion of the world till 
the days of the joint-reign of Christ and the saints 

Revelation xv. 2-4 shows that the " nations " shal 
come and worship before the Lord, because his judg- 
ments are made manifest, after the victors over the 
beast, his image, his mark, and the number of his 
name, (the characteristics of Babylon), are seen on 
the sea of glass mingled with lire, (judgments), and 
singing the song of Moses and the Lamb. This is 
in harmony with Psalm lxxxvi. 9, which shows that 



: 



WHA T IS GOD'S F URPOSE ? 13 

all the nations whom God has made shall come and 
worship before him. Ezekiel xvi. 44-63 shows that 
this " all " includes the dead Sodomites, though they 
are usually regarded as being hopelessly lost. God 
made them, as well as the other nations, and by the 
prophets he foretells the time of restitution, when 
they shall be given to Israel under the new covenant, 
and learn to worship the Lord. 

Let no one think that they will only bow and wor- 
ship in hopeless subjection. Man grows like what 
he worships; and Isaiah xxvi. 9 tells us that, when 
God's judgments are in the earth, the people will 
learn righteousness. In Philippians ii. 10, 11, Paul 
tells us that every knee shall bow in the name of 
Christ, and every tongue confess him Lord, to the 
glory of God the Father; and in 1. Corinthians xii. 3 
he plainly says that no man can say that Jesus is the 
Lord, but by the Holy Spirit. In order that all may 
bow and acknowledge the Lord, they must be deliv- 
ered from the power of death, (Hosea xiii. 14); and 
when they are thus delivered, and death itself is de- 
stroyed, there will be no power to kill them again; 
and having acknowledged the Lord and learned 
righteousness, there will be no reason why they 
should die again. All shall live unto the Lord. 

Let no one think we are ignoring conditions, or 
obstacles, or the threatenings of the Lord. Not at 
all; but these Scriptures show that, whatever diffi- 
culties may exist, the Lord knows how to overcome 
them, and seeing beyond them all, declares the end. 
Man may often become weary and discouraged, be 
turned from his purpose, and fail; but the Lord, 
knowing all the facts, and being infinite in wisdom, 
power, and love, declares that he ' ' will not fail, nor 
be discouraged," but by judgment will gain the end 
— the victory of right and truth. (Isa. xlii. 1-4 and 
Matt xii, 18-20.) 



14 THE QBE A T BE VELA TIOK 

Zephaniah i. 14-18 and iii. 8 tell us of the terrible 
day of wrath, (evidently now coming on the world), 
and of the fire (judgments) therewith connected; but 
the next verse shows that the result is not dark and 
hopeless, but harmonizes with the bright outlook of 
the other passages considered; for then the Lord 
will turn the people to a pure language, that fhey 
may all call upon his name, and serve him with one 
consent. As whosoever shall call on the name of the 
Lord shall be saved, (Rom. x. 18), it follows that sal- 
vation, not hopeless destruction, is to result from 
the action of the fire of God's jealousy. He will con- 
sume all that is a curse to men, and thus save them. 

No wonder the angels were jubilant when sent to 
announce the good tidings of great joy for all people. 
(Luke ii. 10 14.) No doubt John the Baptist was glad 
to point out God's Lamb, who taketh away the sin of 
the world. (See John i. 29 and Matt. i. 21.) These 
passages contain no if, and suggest no doubt. 

Jesus himself said he came not to destroy men's 
lives, but to save them, (by destroying their sin and 
enmity); — to seek and to save the lost. (Luke ix. 56; 
xix. 10.) He does not try and fail. He knew his re- 
lation to mankind, and his power of attraction, when 
he said: " I will draw all men unto me. " — John xii. 
32. The Father will not be disappointed, who loved 
the world, and sent his Son into it, not to condemn 
it, (It was condemned already.) but that through him 
it might be saved. (John iii. 16, 17.) 

When the unity of the Church is realized and man- 
ifested, (and the veil is removed from the face of all 
nations, — Isa. xxv. 7), then the world will believe in 
Jesus, and be saved. (John xvii. 20, 21.) No doubt 
the divided Church is more to be blamed than the be- 
nighted world. feut the Son of God was manifested 
on purpose to destroy the works of the devil, (I.John 
iii. 8), and he is able to do this whether these works 
are in the Church or in the world; for he is the pro- 



WHAT IS GOD'S PURPOSE* 15 

pitiation for the sins of both the Church and the 
world. (1. John ii. 2.) He is the Saviour of the body, 
(Eph. v. 23), but he is also the Saviour of the world, 
(1. John iv. 14), and he cannot fail to save them both. 

The parables of Luke xv. , of the lost sheep, the 
lost silver, and the lost son, all illustrate God's pur- 
pose. Truth is many-sided, and whatever else these 
parables may teach, it appears clear that they repre- 
sent three classes of sinners, the stupid, the helpless 
and the willful, and the lost were all found. The 
sheep and the silver were not expected to come or be 
found of themselves. The son, who knew by experi- 
ence the blessings of home, and still (like the back- 
slider) wasted his substance with riotous living, was 
not sent for, but was allowed to suffer the bitter con- 
sequences, until he "came to himself , "—awakened 
to the sense of his sonship and his folly. Then he 
returned to his father's house, and his father met 
him while he was yet a great way off, and made him 
more than welcome. According to these parables, 
neither the Father, nor the Son, nor the Church, nor 
the Angels in heaven, will be satisfied while even 
one remains lost. ^ 

Men, being "dead in trespasses and sin," (Eph. ii. 
1), cannot come to Christ unless they are drawn by 
the Father, (John vL 44); they cannot save them- 
selves. Christ, being the Saviour of the world, will 
save them. Not that he will save them without faith 
(or the knowledge of the truth) and repentance, but 
by every man obtaining the true light, (John i. 9), the 
goodness of God will lead them to repentance. (Rom. 
ii. 4.) Jesus said the Father had given him power 
over all flesh, to give them eternal life; and he shows 
that the knowledge of God, revealed in Christ, are 
inseparable, if not identical. (John xvii. 2, 3.) 

It is worthy of notice that Paul, the apostle to the 
Gentiles, has not used the word gehenna (hell) in all 
his writings; and though believing in future punish- 



16 THE GBEAT BEVELATlom 

merit, (Rom. ii. 8, 9), he evidently had no such idea 
of its endlessness or hopelessness as is taught in 
modern church-creeds. The use of the word by our^ 
Lord was in addressing the Jews, who knew its sig- 
nification — the land or valley of Hinnom. It was a 
place used for destruction, by fire and worms, of all 
physical corruption from the typical Jerusalem. It 
was therefore the proper figure of the Lord's way of 
consuming all spiritual corruption, and so of purify- 
ing the spiritual atmosphere. It burns up the works 
of the devil, and so saves man — God's own work. 

How clear Paul was concerning God's purpose in 
and through Christ! He calls it a faithful saying, 
worthy of being accepted by all, that Christ Jesus 
came into the world to save sinners — even the chief. 
(1. Tim. io 15.) If the Lord could save the chief of 
sinners, who was not even seeking for salvation, he 
surely can do as much for all other sinners. In the 
same letter, (iv. 10), the apostle says he both labored 
and suffered reproach because of his trust in the liv- 
ing God, as the Saviour of all men, but especially of 
believers. If he saves only the few, there is no 
specialty, and he is not the Saviour of all. When 
Paul required Timothy to bring his cloke, and his 
books, but especially the parchments, (2. Tim, iv. 13), 
surely he did not mean that he should bring only the 
parchments. No word from Paul, nor, indeed, from 
any other Bible writer, intimates that any sinner is, 
or ever will be, beyond the reach of hope or mercy. 
In Romans v. 18-21, he shows that justification to 
righteousness and life, even eternal life, through 
Jesus Christ, is as universal as the sin, condemna- 
tion, and death through Adam. Truly the wages of 
sin is death, but God's gift is eternal life. — Rom. vi. 
23. The wages is to all, and the gift follows it. 
Life and righteousness are final. 

Paul's writings refer mainly to the Christian's 
life and hope, but he also gives some of the grandest 



WHAT IS GOD'S PUliPOSEf 17 

glimpses of God's purpose for the world. Indeed, 
the greatest hope of the Christian himself, is that, 
when he is glorified with Christ he is to be a co- 
worker with him, in working out the world's salva- 
tion. It is thus that Christians " are the called ac- 
cording to his purpose. " They are the ' ' firstf ruits, ' \ 
(Rom. viii. 23; Rev. xiv. 4), and the world will be 
the later fruit. Those who have suffered with and 
waited for Christ shall reign with him. — Rom. viii. 
17. But the creature, (the world contrasted with 
those who have waited for the Son of God), waits for 
the manifestation of the sons of God, and itself also, 
(as well as the firstf ruits), shall be delivered from 
the bondage of corruption, (sin and death), into the 
glorious liberty of the children of God. — Vs. 19-21. 
To be delivered first is the hope of the Church, and 
to be delivered later, through the Church as the 
Lamb's wife, is the hope of the world. 

What a glorious Saviour Christ is! No one having 
the Spirit can love him less, nor be inclined to turn 
back to serve the wicked one^ on account of the full- 
ness of God's loving purpose. What a blessed hope 
is ours! and what a favor to be called according to 
his gracious purpose! 

The glorious relation of the saints to God's plan is 
held before the church at Corinth. He reminds them 
of what he had taught them before, that the saints 
shall judge the world. — 1. Cor. vi. 2. And let us not 
forget that while the law has judged men to condem- 
nation, the work of Christ, and therefore of his per- 
fected co-workers, is to "send forth judgment unto 
victory." 

The fullness of life and righteousness in Christ, 
contrasted with the sin and death in Adam, men- 
tioned in Romans v. 18-21, is made at least equally 
clear in 1. Corinthians xv. Man brought death; 
Christ, the second Man, brings the resurrection of 
(2) 



18 THE GREAT REVELATION. 

the dead. " The dead " is not limited to a few, but 
is a term that includes all the dead. "For as in 
Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made 
alive; but every man in his own order. "—Vs. 21-23. 

Why should any man be anxious to make this 
passage teach that the number in death is greater 
than the number in the resurrection? Did not Christ 
give himself a ransom for all? There are different 
ranks, or orders, but " every man " is included. All 
death for man is in Adam. Whatever the process 
may be, (and no doubt the resurrection is a process), 
when all men are made alive in Christ, there can be 
1 ' no more death. ' ' The apostle makes this grand 
victory the encouragement, not to idleness, but, to 
labor. — Vs. 57, 58. The assurance of success is 
always the strongest and best motive to faithful 
work. 

In 2. Corinthians v. 18, 19 the apostle shows that 
God's purpose in and through Christ includes a for- 
given and reconciled world. To reconcile men is 
God's method of subduing them to himself, and when 
all sin and death are done away, God shall be all in 
all.— 1. Cor. xv. 28, 

In Galatians iii., Paul by identifying Christians as 
the seed of Abraham, and heirs according to the 
promise, (Vs. 26-29), carries the mind back to the 
gospel as the Lord preached it, and assures us that, 
not only the Church, but, "all nations " shall be 
blessed. The blessing is righteousness and life, as 
the curse to be removed is sin and death. 

In Ephesians i. 9, 10 he shows definitely what God 
has purposed in himself: "That in the dispensation 
of the fullness of times, he might gather together in 
one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, 
and which are on earth, even in him. " And if there 
is any doubt here as to the dead, or those "under 
the earth," being included, that doubt is removed 
by his statement in Philippians ii. 9-11, where every 



WHAT IS GOD'S PURPOSE? Yd 

knee bows, and every tongue confesses, as before 
seen. 

That all are reconciled, or brought into -willing 
subjection, is shown in Colossians i. 20, as in 2. 
Corinthians v. 19. Why should any Christian limit 
the success declared in these passages, or try to 
weaken the " will have all men to be saved," when 
they know that Christ Jesus gave himself a ransom 
for all, to be testified in due time?— 1. Tim. ii. 4-6. 

Who can doubt, in view of all these testimonies, 
that God's purpose reaches over and beyond all 
obstacles of unbelief, rebellion, and punishment, and 
includes the enlightenment, reconciliation, resurrec- 
tion, holiness and happiness of all? Such a^purpose 
is surely in harmony with the fundamental truth 
that '"-God is Love/' and the related statement that 
" The Lord is good to all; and his tender mercies are 
over all his works." It does not seem that any 
other view of God's purpose and the destiny of man 
can be harmonized with these fundamental truths. 




THE: GpAT REVELATION. 



CHAPTER II. 

,b THE PLAN OF THE AGES. 

rihf HAT sincere Christians, whose early impres* 
SK sions have been formed under more limited 
% teaching, will have objections to the larger 
k> view of the Purpose of God, is to be expected. 
Many such ones admit that the array of Scriptural 
testimony, such as is given in the preceding chapter, 
makes the larger view look both good and reasona- 
ble; but there are Scriptures which appear to them 
to teach an opposite idea; and they ask how this or 
that passage can be harmonized with the larger hope. 
Such doubts and questions ought not to be treated 
lightly. To believers in the divine inspiration of the 
Bible, it is not satisfactory to have it said that this 
or that view has the preponderance of testimony. 
We hold that all the Bible testimony on any subject 
is harmonious. Bnt no prophecy of the Scripture 
is of any private interpretation, or to be understood 
by itself, because, being of one Spirit, they must all 
agree. (2. Pet. i. 20, 21.) To be understood, each 
statement must be seen in its true place and relation 
to other truths. And if indeed God has a Plan of 
the Ages, it must be evident that seeing that plan 
will be an important help in the right application of 
Scripture. A statement may appear dark if viewed 
abstractly, or regardless of its relation to the plan, 
when otherwise it is bright with the light of God. 
An understanding of the plan,- or the Lord's order of 
work, confirms the assurance that his purpose is 
20 



GOD'S THREE WORLDS. 21 

based in love, and that he reveals himself that in due 
time all mankind may be blessed. 

That we may see the outline, or frame- work, of the 
Bible plan, let us consider 

Gods Three Worlds. 

The Bible shows that the past, present, and future 
of mankind are all included in Three Worlds, — the 
world that was before the flood, the world that now 
is, from the flood to the Lord's second coming, and 
the world to come. The history of mankind and of 
the gospel of Christ are inseparable; hence the plan 
of revelation and salvation spans these three worlds; 

The basis of this outline is found in 2. Peter iii. 
The apostle speaks of each of these three periods, or 
orders of things, as a distinct "heavens and earth,' ' 
and if any prefer it, they may call them the " Three 
Heavens and Earth, " instead of the " Three Worlds. " 
It will be the same outline, whatever it is called; and 
the thing is more important than its name. But, in 
chapter ii. 5, the first of the three is called " the old 
world," and, in iii. 6, . " the world that then was." 
And as the first is called a world, it appears proper 
to call the second and third worlds too. 

The Greek word, kosmos, here rendered world, 
means the general order of things, and not the earth 
alone, as some think. The same word is often used 
when the people are meant, as, " God so loved the 
world," " Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh 
away the sin of the world, " " The field is the world, " 
(Mankind, not the ground, is the field of Christ's op- 
eration.) " He is the propitiation for * * the sins 
of the whole world. " Kosmos is thus used for the 
general order of things, or for the people, but it ap- 
pears never to be translated earth, nor to have that 
meaning. The Greek word for earth is ge, and, of 
course, the earth is included with the heavens in the 
order of things. 



22 THE QBE A T BE VELA TION. 

These three worlds exist in the order of succession, 
as first, second, and third, and this same planet is 
connected with all three. The first world (order) 
is said to have " perished," when it ended, at the 
flood. The second world (order) is " reserved unto 
fire," and comes to an end. But the third, or the 
"new heavens and new earth," is the " world with- 
out end."— Isa. xlv. 17. 

As the earth remained when the old world per- 
ished, the change was not so much physical as dis- 
pensational. No doubt there were geologic and at- 
mospheric changes when the fountains of the great 
deep were broken up and it rained. It may not have 
rained before. (Gen. ii. 5, 6.) Who knows that the 
juice of the grape ever fermented before? Was not 
Noah the first to be drunk? (Gen. ix. 21.) Was it a 
change in climatic conditions that made it necessary 
to add flesh to man's diet? (Gen. i. 29; ix, 3.) What 
but such changes could have so shortened human life? 

But whatever the changes, the earth itself , with 
its waters, mountains, and valleys, remained. The 
waters, more from below than above, prevailed, and 
all the high hills were covered. (Gen. vii. 19.) The 
ark rose above the mountains, carried on the face of 
the waters, and when they abated, it rested upon the 
mountains (or highlands) of Ararat. (Gen. viii. 4.) 
The trees were not uprooted, for had they been float- 
ing, the dove might have found a place of rest out- 
side of the ark, and an olive leaf plucked off would 
not have proved that the waters were abating. (See 
verses 9-11.) 

As the old world could perish without greater 
physical changes, it may be that many are expecting 
too great physical changes at the end of this world, 
and the dawn of the new world promised. New does 
not necessarily mean perfect, even if the change be 
in a good direction. This evil world was once new, 
and now it is waxing old. Though evil, there is some 



GOD'S THBEE WOBLDS. 23 

good in it. At the beginning of the next world, Sa- 
tan will be bound, chained, limited, (by the overthrow 
of the seven-headed monster which represents him 
in the earth), but we need not expect all sin and its 
woes to be done away at the first. There is at least 
a thousand years, (with the "little season" at its 
close), during which Christ and the saints will reign 
to conquer all enemies. - ' The sinner being an hun- 
dred years old shall be accursed. *' Sin and death go 
hand in hand, and the last enemy to be destroyed is 
death. (Rev. xx. 1-4; Isa. lxv. 20; 1. Cor. xv. 26.) 

From what w T e have seen concerning the relation 
of the plan of revelation to these three worlds, it fol- 
lows that when a statement of the Word belongs to 
any one of them, it must be incorrect to apply it in 
either of the others. Without an outline of the plan 
no wonder that men have misapplied the Scriptures. 
The ' ' world to come " is regarded by many as the 
place where the spirit of man goes at the death of 
the body, but by the Bible plan we may know that 
"the world to come, " (whether aion — age — or kos- 
mos — order — be in mind), does not begin until the 
end of this world, at the Lord's coming, and the first 
resurrection. It would be as correct to say that all 
who died before the flood (in the first world), went 
at death to the second world, as to say that, by dying 
in the second world, men go to the third, which is 
the world to come. 

Seeing the plan therefore gives greater interest m 
the Lord's return, for, whatever the intermedial > 
state may be, the Christian's reward is not due until 
he comes. Jesus said: " Ye shall be recompensed at 
the resurrection of the just," that is, the first resur- 
rection. This is not due until "the last [or seventh] 
trumpet," covering a long period of time and many 
events, (like the other six trumpets), near the begin- 
ning of which Christ comes, and rewards the " proph- 
ets, saints, and them that fear his name, small and 



24 THE GEE A T BE VELA TION. 

great." (Luke xiv. 14; 1. Cor. xv. 52; 1. Thess. iv 
16; Rev. xi. 15-18. 

It is clearly taught that the joint-reign of Christ 
and the saints does not begin till the world to come. 
The kingdoms of this world do not become the king- 
doms of our Lord and his anointed ones until the 
sounding of the seventh or last trumpet. (Rev. xi. 
15.) But, is not the Church of the gospel age often 
called "the kingdom of heaven? " Yes, but it is on- 
ly the kingdom in the process of formation — the de- 
velopment of the power, the royal priesthood, that 
is to rule the nations. Of course, Christ exercises 
authority in the Church, loyalty to him being the 
condition of membership. They are called out from 
the world to follow Christ in sacrifice and overcom- 
ing. Meanwhile, the nations are under the dominion 
of Satan — the god (ruler of the darkness) of this 
world (age). (2. Cor. iv. 4; Eph. ii. 2; vi. 12; John 
xii. 31; xiv. 30; xvi. 11.) In harmony with all this, 
the called out people do not begin to reign with 
Christ, and have power over the nations, until " the 
end " of this age of suffering and overcoming. (2. 
Tim. ii. 12; Rev. ii. 26.) They cannot share in his 
glorious reign until they are born from the dead and 
made like him. The kingdom of God was not to be 
" set up, " that is, put in the position of power to 
rule the nations, until " in the days " of the ten-toe 
division and the brittle, " iron and clay " condition 
of the Roman empire, and after the 1260 years of 
the antichristian reign. (Dan. ii. 41-44; vii. 24-27.) 
It could not, therefore, have been " set up " at the 
day of pentecost, nor before the. present century. It 
appears strangely inconsistent for any, but especial- 
ly for those who hold the Bible teaching concerning 
the sleep of the dead and the reward of the saints at 
the Lord's coming, at the seventh trump, to claim 
that the suffering and dying saints and martyrs have 



GOD'S THBEE WOBLD& 25 

" lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years," at 
any time in the past. They ought to know that the 
glory follows the suffering, — that their time to reign 
is after their resurrection, (Rev. xx. 4; v. 9, 10.) 

The apostle contrasts (but does not combine) the 
suffering and the glory in Romans viii. 17, 18, es- 
pecially the latter, where he says: "I reckon that 
the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to 
be compared with the glory which shall be revealed 
in us." See also 2. Corinthians iv. 1*7, 18, where the 
apostle shows that our afflictions, which belong to 
the seen and temporal, works the glory which is un- 
seen and eternal. The sufferings of the saints, or 
the body of Christ, are in this world, and their glo- 
rious work as a royal priesthood, in perfect union 
(marriage) with the glorified One, will be in the fut- 
ure world. 

As before mentioned, the Greek word kcsmos (the 
general order or arrangement of things) is the one 
used by Peter. The word aion (age) is used by Paul 
and others in the expression, " the world {aion — age) 
to come." In Ephesians ii. 7, the plural, aionos, is 
used, and properly rendered ages: "In the ages to 
come." But, in Hebrews ii. 5, another Greek word 
(oikoumene) is used, which means the habitable earth. 
Kosmos is a more comprehensive word than oikoume- 
ne, for the earth is only a part of the order of 
things, either present or future. But in saying 
"the world to come, "(the future habitable), the 
apostle evidently refers to the same period of time 
as did Peter, or to "the new heaven and new earth " 
state. He had been saying that in the present time, 

the angels are ' ' ministering spirits ' ' unto the heirs 
of salvation. (Heb. i. 14.) But he anticipated a 
change in this arrangement. The kingdom of Christ 
and the saints is to supersede Satan's reign, and 
even the heavenly angels are to be put in subjec- 



£6 THE QBE AT BEVELATION. 

tion to it. "For," says the apostle, "unto the 
angels hath he not put in subjection the world to 
come [the future oikoumene, or habitable earth], where- 
of we speak. But * * What is man, that thou 
art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou 
visitest him? Thou mad est him a little [while] lower 
than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and 
honour, and didst set him over the works of thy 
hands: Thou hast put all things in subjection under 
his feet." This much was quoted from the eighth 
psalm, where man's dignity as the lord of creation 
is revealed. Then the apostle makes the following 
comment: ' ' For in that he [God] put all in subjection 
under him [man], he left nothing that is not put under 
him. But now we see not yet all things put under 
him. But ive see Jesus, etc." (Heb. ii. 5-10.) 

This passage clearly teaches that the original 
promise of man's dominion was not then fulfilled. 
It was prophetic, and only to be fulfilled in and 
through Jesus, the second, the regenerated, the heav- 
enly, the real Man. In answering the question, 
" What is man?" the apostle does not point back to 
Adam, as if he were God's ideal man, but points to 
Jesus, the Overcomer, the highly-exalted One. He 
is God's ideal Man. He is the Conqueror of himself, 
and of all man's enemies, and therefore the only 
rightful and able Lord of creation. And only by 
following him,— by overcoming through his grace 
and power given us, — can we be sharers in his roy- 
alty and dominion of the world. He that would rule 
must first learn to submit to rightful authority. We 
can therefore see why all things are "not yet " put 
under man, and why during the ages past, man has 
been put under the angels. But God's purpose will 
yet be realized, to have all things (including the 
angels, 1. Cor. xi. 3) made subject to man. And it 
is a blessed thing when ive see Jesus, ' ' the head of 
every man," (1. Cor. xi. 3), who also was made for a 



THE SUCCESSION OF AGES. 27 

little while lower than the angels, — taking man's 
place in order to overcome in his behalf, — now highly 
exalted, as the firstf ruit, the ideal and promise of 
what man is to be. He is God's " assurance unto all 
men," (Acts xvii. 31), and we know that in the world 
to come, " all things " (except God himself, 1. Cor. 
xv. 27) shall be subject to the perfected, glorified 
men, w T ith Christ Jesus as their Head. 

Paul's teaching here, in harmony with other Script- 
ures, shows that the angels are not the disembodied 
spirits of men, as some have claimed, but are another 
order of beings that existed before mankind; and that 
they are to be superseded by glorified men in the 
ministration of God's benefits to men in the flesh. 
They will be the " ministering spirits '' in the ages 
to come; for he that is greatest, he that rules, in 
God's kingdom, is he that will be the servant of all. 

To those who understand what has here been writ- 
ten, it must be evident that many things in the Bible 
are made plainer by having in mind the outline of 
the revealed plan as seen in the three worlds. And 
it will be a further help to understand the Word if 
we carefully consider 

The Succession of Ages. 

The three worlds — the great divisions of God's 
plan of revelation and salvation — are subdivided into 
ages, or dispensations. The ages (Greek, singular, 
aion, plural, aionos) are definite periods of time, and 
the dispensations are the work of the Lord in those 
periods. 

The first of the three worlds may not have been 
divided into ages, but it appears that there must have 
been some change of dispensation when Adam sinned 
and died. The communion between man and his 
Maker was not so direct afterward, if, indeed, it was 
not entirely cut off, except in a very few cases. How 
long Adam and Eve remained in the garden we can- 



28 fHE QBE A T BE VELA TION. . 

not tell; but, long or short, it was a period of inno- 
cence — not of perfect righteousness or holiness. 

The Bible does not toach that man was created in 
a state of holiness and fell from it. Innocence and 
holiness are not identical. Had man been perfectly 
holy, he would not have sinned; he would have had 
no inclination to sin; because, as Jesus taught, a good 
tree cannot bring forth evil fruit;— a pure fountain 
cannot send forth a corrupt stream. "Make the 
tree good, and his fruit will be good. " (Matt. vii. 16- 
20; xii. 33.) That man, like all the rest of creation, 
was " very good," — just right for the purpose in- 
tended, — is true; but it was not the goodness of a 
perfect character. It appears clear that the Lord 
does not directly create character, either good or 
bad. Character — either bad or good, sinful or holy — 
is the result of the use of the faculties, in which man 
is a voluntary actor. There can be no holiness in 
the creature without knowledge of God, and volun- 
tary choice and obedience. It is on the line of will- 
ing obedience that men have their fruit unto holiness. 
(Rom. vi. 16-22.) Man was made subject to vanity — 
a low condition,— in hope of deliverance. (Rom. viii. 
20, 21.) Adam was not strong, but subject to the in- 
fluence of temptation, and proved his weakness, or 
" vanity ," by yielding to sin at the very first trial. 
He evidently acted out his nature. 

From the time that man sinned, or acted accord- 
ing to the inclinations of his animal nature, he made 
a rapid increase of sinful principles, like the growth 
of a crop from a fruitful $eed; and we are told "that 
the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and 
that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart 
was only evil continually." — Gen. vi. 5. How under 
such circumstances could it have been otherwise? 
The law, long afterward given to Moses, was un- 
known. — Rom. v. 13. The gospel had not yet been 
preached, so far as the record shows. " Neverthe- 



THE SUCCESSION OF AGES. 29 

less death reigned." — Ver. 14. And it appears that 
the purpose of God in that dispensation of darkness 
and death, terminating at the flood, was to prove the 
utter incompetency of the natural man, of himself, 
to rise to a higher plane of thought and action. 
Without help from above man always sinks. 

The second world (from the flood to the second 
coming of Christ) is divided into three ages or dis- 
pensations. The first extended from the flood to the 
death of Jacob, and we call it the Patriarchal or One 
Man age, because in the Bible line the family was 
the greatest organization, and only one man at a time 
represented the Lord as its ruler. In this it differed 
little, if at all, from the age before the flood. That 
was the age of the patriarchal ''fathers," Abraham, 
Isaac, and Jacob, to whom the promises were made. 
The light which was dispensed or given to them was 
a ray of hope by the Lord's covenant, and not by the 
law. What they had was the gospel in promise, and 
partly in type, as Isaac, like Christ, was the child of 
promise, in whom the nations were to be blessed. 
Paul makes the important point that this promise 
was not based on obedience to the law, and that the 
law, given 430 years afterward, could not make the 
promise of no effect, or inoperative. (Gal. iii. 16-18.) 

The second age of this present world, (reaching 
from the death of Jacob, the last of the three patri- 
archal " fathers," to the death of Christ), we call the 
Jewish age, or that of " the twelve tribes of Israel." 
It was at Jacob's death that they were organized as 
a nation, and the scepter — a symbol of royal author- 
ity — committed to Judah. Before that time they 
were called simply the sons of Jacob, or Joseph and 
his brethren; but then, the dying patriarch, prophet- 
ically anticipating their greatness as a nation, and 
their tribal character, gave each one his blessing, 
and said: " All these are the twelve tribes of Israel. " 
(Gen. xlix. 10, 28.) And from that time they as a 



30 THE GEE A T BE VELA TIOK 

nation represented God's cause in the earth, and 
were counted his people. 

We sometimes speak of that period of the twelve 
tribes as the legal age, or the dispensation of the 
law, because in it the law w r as given. For this rea- 
son some have thought that their age should be 
reckoned as beginning when the law was given, after 
they came out of Egypt. But in addition to the evi- 
dence that they were organized at Jacob's death, we 
are plainly told that in Egypt they . "became a na- 
tion, great, mighty, and populous." — Deut. xxvi. 5. 
This point has more than a passing importance when 
we study the relation of "The Two Dispensations. " 
(See Day Dawn.) And in view of the fact that Is- 
rael stands as the national type of God's Son, it was 
necessary that Israel as a nation should be in bond- 
age in Egypt, in order to illustrate the truth which 
was seen in Christ, and which must be realized in 
every case of regeneration: "Out of Egypt have I 
called my Son." (Hosea xi. 1; Matt. ii. 15.) Their 
deliverance included and required their baptism into 
death (typically), secured by their passage of the 
Red Sea, (1. Cor. x. 1-4.), where their enemies, rep- 
resenting the enmity, perished; and the giving of 
the law was but a later and important incident in 
their national experience. 

The special light of that age was by the law, some 
features of which gave the gospel in type. The 
whole sacrificialsystem, and the sabbatic system, 
both parts of the law, prefigured the great atone- 
ment, or reconciliation by death to sin, in and through 
our Lord Jesus Christ, and the consequent peace and 
rest into which the believer enters. But with all 
their opportunities in advance of those in the pre- 
ceding ages, they knew nothing of the real gospel of 
Christ, as it was not preached to them. Having the 
law did not save them — make them holy. We are 
plainly .told that there is no salvation by the law; 



THE S UCCESSION OF A GES. 31 

that it was not given for the purpose of making men 
righteous, but rather to shew the exceeding sinful- 
ness of sin. (Rom. iii. 19, 20; vii. 7-13; Gal. ii. 16; 
iii. 11, 21.) 

Paul, in Gal. iii, is not speaking of two laws — one 
moral, and an added ceremonial— as some suppose. 
He is contrasting the promise and the law, shewing 
the emphatic value of the former, given in the patri- 
archal age, and then asks: " Wherefore then serveth 
the law ? [Of what use could it be seeing neither 
righteousness nor the inheritance comes by it? And 
then he answers]: It was added [not to a previous 
law, but to the promise] because of transgressions, 
[for sin was in the world before the law, though it 
was not known, nor imputed, —Rom. v. 13; iii. 20, 
last clause; vii. 7-9.] until the seed should come [to 
save men] to whom the promise was made." — Gal. 
iii. 19. 

So as the former ages proved the utter inability of 
man to rise to a higher plane of thought and life 
without either law or gospel, the Jewish age proved 
the utter weakness of the law to raise man up, or 
save him; and thus an important point was gained 
in shewing the all -importance of Christ as the com- 
ing Seed of God and the Saviour of men. And the 
law, revealing both human need and weakness, was 
like a school master to bring men to him. — Gal. 
iii. 24. 

This brings us to the third age of this present 
world, usually known as the gospel age, or the dis- 
pensation of the Spirit. As the Jewish age, on ac- 
count of Its legal nature, was a dispensation of death, 
it terminated with the death of Christ, who thus gave 
it all that a broken law could claim; and the new 
dispensation was introduced by his resurrection, by 
which he " abolished death, and brought life and 
immortality to light. "—2. Tim. i. 10. 

The light Qf this third age is by the Spirit, and is 



32 THE GIZE AT REVELATION: 

the climax and antitype of much that had formerly 
been given in type, promise and prophecy. But 
though it is usually called the gospel age, or the dis- 
pensation of the Spirit, it is more properly the first 
dispensation of the Spirit, and the beginning of the 
gospel in fact or fulfillment. Many have supposed 
that the gospel plan of salvation is limited to this 
age, and will end with the coming of the Bridegroom 
and the marriage of the Lamb. But the very idea of 
the marriage, the natural being used as the shadow 
of the spiritual plan of God, suggests a work of re- 
generation beyond. There is good reason for believ- 
ing, (as Adam was a figure of the coming One— the 
second Adam, Rom. v. 14; 1. Cor. xv. 45-47), that 
Eve and the marriage and the natural generation of 
mankind — all on the natural plane — prefigured the 
Church and the marriage of the Lamb and the re- 
generation of mankind — all on the spiritual plane. 

In Acts xv. 14, we are shown that the turning to 
the Gentiles — a prominent characteristic of this age 
—is for the purpose of taking out a people for 
Christ's name, — to be one with him, as the wife is 
one with her husband, and bears his name. 

It has been shown that the joint-reign of Christ 
and his saints belongs in the world to come. This 
first age of the gospel, and of the Spirit, is properly 
an age of election, for the development of the saints. 
One of the Bible names of this elect company is the 
" Seed of Abraham/' or, typically, of God, the Fa- 
ther. And one of the things made clear, in the light 
of this age, is that though Christ Jesus is called the 
Seed, because in him all fullness dwells, yet he is 
only the Head of the Seed, and all who are baptized 
into him are also called the Seed, and heirs with him, 
according to the promise. — Gal. iii. 19, 27-29. Not 
merely one Child, ' ' but the children of the promise 
are counted for the seed. " — Rom. ix. 8. .And both 
reason and the Scriptures show that, as this age is 



THE SUCCESSION OF AGES. 33 

for the election and training of the Seed, the work of 
the seed lies beyond, and the promise is that the 
Seed shall bless all the families of the earth. "With 
this view, the importance of this age and its work is 
not lessened, but rather greatly enhanced. It is a 
greater thing to be a Christian than is commonly 
supposed. 

This brings us to the end of the second world, and 
the beginning of the third, which is also divided into 
ages, the first of which is the Millennium, or thousand 
years' reign of Christ and the saints. (Rev. xx. 4.) 
Some think of the future only as " One eternal age;" 
but the word eternal, or everlasting is a translation 
of the adjective form of the Greek word aion, or age, 
and it is often used in the plural form, which shows 
that it is not an endless period. As the word axon 
means age, and the adjective aionios means age-last- 
ing, it can mean endless only when applied to im- 
mortal beings, or when the thing said to be everlast- 
ing is contrasted with something that comes to an end. 
The plural of aion is aiones, aioncn, aiosi, or aionas, 
varying in form according to the several grammati- 
cal cases. Paul uses the dative plural of the word 
when, in speaking of the object of the exaltation 
of the Church, he says it is: "That in the ages 
[aiosi] to come, he might shew the exceeding riches 
of his grace. " — Eph. ii. 7. It is evident that the 
world to come is a grand succession of ages, instead 
of what men have called "one eternal age," or a 
' ' never-ending eternity. ' ' The first age is a conquer- 
ing reign, but it is to be followed by a reign of peace, 
when the Spirit, which now comes only upon a few, — 
the servants and hand-maidens, — shall have come 
upon all flesh, (Joel. ii. 28); when sin and death will 
be things of the past; and God's will shall be done in 
earth as in heaven; when men shall not labor in vain, 
nor women bring forth for trouble; but they shall be 
(3) 



3i THE GREAT REVELATION. 

the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring 
with them. — Isa. lxv. 21-28. 

In these worlds and ages we have an outline of the 
plan of God, a bird's-eye view of its development, 
and a glimpse of the glorious outcome. Perhaps it 
may prepare for a still further study of the subject. 
Meanwhile, we may be well assured that the better 
we know his plan, the stronger will be our faith in 
his all-abounding love and grace. 





% 



THE G^BAT REVELATION. 

CHAPTER III. 

9 GOD'S PLAN PROGRESSIVE. 

E have seen that God's plan of revelation and 
salvation covers three worlds, in which there 
is a succession of ages, and that each age has 
its own dispensation of truth and its own 
peculiar work. God's plan does not move in a circle, 
but " Onward and Upward," — each succeeding dis- 
pensation being a step higher than the preceding 
one. In harmony with this, it is an important fact 
that the Bible system of truth is progressive, and 
adapted to the ability and need of mankind in all 
ages — milk for babes, and strong meat for them that 
are matured in mind. 

God deals with the race in some respects as with 
one person. As there are three phases of life in each 
individual, so there are three stages in the world's 
growth: (1) without the law, (2) under the law, and 
(3) above the law. The world was without the law 
from Adam to Mos6s. In that period sin was in the 
world, but was not imputed. (Rom. v. 13.) That was 
the world's infancy,— a condition which corresponded 
to the non-accountable period of a child's life. In 
that period, or condition, wrong-doing does not pro- 
duce a sense of guilt, and while it needs to be checked, 
it ought not to be punished like sin against knowledge. 
" The law was given by Moses. " " By the law is 
the knowledge of sin." The design of law is to teach 
what is right, and by its penalty to restrain from do- 
ing wrong. The law was not designed to save sin- 
ners; that is, to make them righteous; but to make 

35 



86 T1IEQBEAT11BVELATI0N. 

sin exceeding sinful. The period of restraint under 
the law is like that of imperfect manhood, when, if 
people do right at all, it is from fear of penalty, or 
01 public opinion. Speaking of the relation of the 
period before the law, and the dispensation of the 
law, or else of his individual experience concerning 
the two principles involved, Paul says: " I was alive 
without tlie law once: but when, the commandment 
came, sin revived, and I died. " — Rom. vii. 9. This 
principle is equally applicable individually and to 
the nation which by the law obtained the knowledge 
of sin. That knowledge made sin stronger, and 
brought guilt and condemnation. (Vs. 8, 13 and iii. 
19, 20.) 

Is it not safe to say that all who do right merely 
from fear of penalty,— or who " would not " — as they 
say — " try to be Christians, if it were not for fear of 
endless punishment, ' ' — are still under the law, still 
only in the second stage of development? 

The gospel of God's lovirg favor— pardon of sin, 
and life-giving power— came by Jesus Christ. The 
promise of this was given 430 years before the law, 
and the law was added (to the promise) because of 
transgression, till the Seed should come to whom the 
promise was made. (Gal. iii. 17-19.) Of those having 
received the gospel, it is said: " Ye are not under 
the law, but under grace," (favor.) — Rom. vi. 14. 
They are said to be risen with Christ. (Eph. ii. 1-6; 
Col. iii. 1.) They are free from the curse of the law, 
by the raising power of the Lord Jesus. This is the 
third stage, — above the law. True manhood is not 
reached until the gospel is applied, and man is raised 
out of condemnation and above law. Then men will 
do right from love, not from fear of penalty, — from 
constraint, not restraint. ' ' The love of Christ con- 
strainethus." — 2. Cor. v. 14. 

Whether applied to the progress of the individual 
Christian life or to the general plan of revelation, 






GOD'S PLAN PBOGBESSIVE. 37 

the words of the wise man are true: " The path of 
the just is as the shining light, that shineth more 
and more unto the perfect day." — Pro v. iv. 18. The 
progression of the plan is illustrated by the fact that, 
in the period before the law, the Lord appeared as a 
man, (Gen. xviii. 1 and probably in the garden of 
Eden); while the law was given " by the disposition 
of angels," "who appeared to Moses in a higher form 
than man, (Acts vii. 53; Gal. iii. 19; Heb. ii. 2 com- 
pared with the record in Exodus); and in the gospel 
times, he has spoken unto us by the only begotten 
Son. (Heb. i. 2.) This progress suggests purpose. 
Man is lower than the angels, and the Son is higher 
than the highest angel, being God r s ideal of wha't man 
is to be. This illustrates the path from earth to 
glory, or the growth of God's kingdom, — ""First the 
blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the 
ear."— Mark iv. 28. 

The period before the lav/ was characterized by the 
dimness of light. The light of the Jewish age was 
as the moon— reflected from the gospel sun, which 
had not then risen. The types of the law w T ere but a 
shadow of the good things to come. But the gospel 
Church is as "a woman clothed with the sun, and 
with the moon [things of the Jewish age] under her 
feet."- — Rev. xii. 1. 

The contrast between the Jewish and Gospel dis- 
pensations is very great. There are both a parallel- 
ism and a contrast, — the things of the former being 
an earthly shadow of the higher order of things to 
follow. The Jewish Church and its ordinances were 
on the natural plane. It needed no spiritual life to 
be a Jew. But the Gospel Church is not an earthly 
organization. Its fundamental law is : " Ye must be 
born again. " They had " the law of sin and death;" 
we have "the law of the Spirit of life." — Rom. viii. 
2. They were called servants, or " children of the 
flesh," but the Gospel Church are called sons, or 



38 THE GEE AT REVELATION. 

" children of promise." — Rom. ix. 8. Those were in 
bondage; these are free. — Gal. iv. 22-31. Their law 
was national, and adapted to their state of bond ser- 
vice; but the law of the Spirit is the law of love — 
the law of self-sacrifice for others' good. The Jew- 
ish nation was called " a kingdom of priests," (Exod. 
xix. 6), but their sacrifices were bloody , fleshly — only 
typical or shadowy; and the Gospel Church is " a 
royal priesthood," but their sacrifices are the real, 
the spiritual. — Heb. xiii. 15; 1. Pet. ii. 5-9. 

Their circumcision was literal, external; but the 
real or gospel circumcision is inward, "of the heart, 
in the spirit, and not in the letter." — Rom. ii. 29; 
Philip, iii. 3; Col. ii. 11. Their sacrifice of beasts 
was but a. shadow of the crucifixion of the flesh, (the 
lower nature), and the destruction of the body of sin. 
Rom. vi. 6. Their sabbath was merely cessation 
from physical labor; ours is the spiritual rest which 
Jesus gives to all who believe in him. — Heb. iv. 3, 10. 
Theirs was one day in seven; ours is perpetual, as 
typified by the perfect number — seven. Their Jeru- 
salem, their land, and their life were all earthly. All 
the promises and threatenings of that age related 
only to earthly life and death; but the New Jerusa- 
lem, and the inheritance of the Church are heavenly, 
(Heb. xi. 10, 13-16), and the life which Jesus gives is 
spiritual — the knowledge of God.— John xvii. 3. It 
is endless. 

In view of this principle of progression from the 
natural to the spiritual — this parallelism and contrast 
between the Jewish and Gospel dispensations — it 
should surprise no one that the first and second ad- 
vents of our Lord are arranged on the same plan. 
The first coming was in a natural, earthly, fleshly 
body, adapted to the Jewish level, and the sacrificial 
work necessary to bring man to God — that is, up to 
the spiritual condition; and the second coming is in 
a spiritual or heavenly body, adapted to the spiritual 



GOD'S PLAN PBOGBESSIVE. 39 

condition of the " inner man," or the sons of God. 
Both advents are equally personal; but the former 
was visible to men in the flesh, while the latter will 
be visible only to those born of the Spirit — that is, 
those made like him. They shall see him as he is. 
(1. John iii. 2.) Spiritual bodies are not normally 
visible to natural men. Neither the fleshly nature 
nor the fleshly body has any place in the new or 
heavenly order of things? ^Ye may be sure that 
Christ will not come again in the flesh? His first 
coming was in harmony with the fundamental, nat- 
ural law of the Jewish dispensation of which it was 
the end; and his second coming is in harmony with 
the fundamental, spiritual law of the Gospel dispen- 
sation of which it is the end. 

We have referred to but a few of the many types 
of the old dispensation, which find their antitypes in 
the new. The apostle sneaks of meats and drinks, 
divers washings and carnal ordinances, which were 
imposed until the time of reformation, (Heb. ix. 10), 
and then nailed to the cross. (Col. ii. 4.) And then 
he adds: " Let no man judge you in meat, or in 
drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new 
moon, or of the sabbath: which are a shadow of things 
to come; but the body [the antitype, the substance of 
the shadow] is of Christ, "--Vs. 16, 17. 

But great as is the difference between this age end 
the Jewish, the progression does not end here. We 
are told that the Church in her future glory shall 
have no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to 
shine in it: for the glory of the Lord did [will] light- 
en it, and the Lamb is [will be] the light thereof; and 
the nations [who are outside] shall walk in the light 
of it,-' — Rev. xxii. 23, 24. (Surely no one will think 
of the light of any of these ages as natural light. 
The ]ight of the natural sun and moon is only the 
figure; and at least every Christian should know that 
the light from the Lord God and the Lamb is spir- 



£ TUB GEE A T BE VELA TION. 

itual.) The prophet foreseeing the restoration cf 
Israel and the higher glory of the Church in that 
day, says: " The light of the moon [Israel] shall be 
as the sun [the Church], and the light of the sun 
[the Church then glorified with her Lord and shining 
forth on the nations. — Matt. xiii. 43] shall be seven- 
fold, as the light of seven days." — Isa. xxx. 26. 

Number seven is used in the Bible to represent 
perfection. The sabbath, as seen above, means the 
perfection of rest. Here, seven refers to the perfec- 
tion of light — the light of God's glory. The rest and 
the glory are inseparable, That rest will be enjoyed 
by the saints. That light, revealed in the saints, 
and through them shining forth on the nations, shall 
dispel the darkness and gloom of sin and death, and 
thus, by the manifestation of the sons of God, deliv- 
er the groaning creation from the bondage of cor- 
ruption into the glorious liberty cf the children of 
God.— Rom. viii. 18-21. 

Natural Object Lessons. 

Much of the Bible teaching is by a pictorialm.eth.cdj 
in which earthly objects are used as symbols, figures, 
types, or shadows of spiritual things. This is an 
important principle, overlooking which has kept 
many in darkness. The danger is in taking the figure 
for the reality. This pictorial method is used in all 
the dark sayings and parables of the prophets and of 
our Lord himself. He often spake to the multitudes 
in parables, and then explained them privately to 
his disciples. — Mark iv. 34. This is a significant 
fact. The degree of truth given to anyone must de- 
pend on his condition or capacity. In parables truth 
is hidden rather than revealed, — hidden that it may 
be revealed and illustrated in due time. 

Christ's works, as well as his words, were para- 
bles. His healing of bodily disease, and raising 
from physical death, clearly represent his ability to 



NATTJBAL OBJECT LESSONS. 41 

do deeper and greater acts of healing and of raising. 
The natural here as elsewhere represents the spirit- 
ual. Even the person of Christ himself is the hiding 
of the God of truth in the flesh, that he may be re- 
vealed as the Saviour. (Isa. xlv. 15.) God in Christ 
can be known and loved, but without a Mediator he 
is unsearchable and unknowable. 

There is a deep mine of truth in the teachings of 
Christ, which is not seen by the mere surf ace reader. 
Scarcely an earthly object but is used to illustrate 
spiritual truth and the rich provisions of his love and 
grace. ' ' I am the bread of life, ' ' and ' ' If any man 
thirst, let him come unto me and drink, " are samples. 
As bread and water are to the natural life, so is 
Christ to the spiritual life. There are the two kinds 
of life, just as there are the two kinds of bread and 
water. And there must be as many kinds of death 
as of life. " The life is the blood, " and the shedding 
of blood causes death, whatever the nature of the 
life or blood is. Christ sometimes used the terms 
flesh and blood in the same figurative sense as he 
used bread and water, and staggered his material- 
istic Jewish hearers by saying: " Exceptyeeat the 
flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have 
no life in you. " — John vi. 53. It is clear that he did 
not refer to his natural flesh and blood, for these 
were not to be eaten, and would have done no good 
if they had been; and Jesus immediately said: " It 
is the Spirit that quickeneth; the [natural] flesh profit: 
eth nothing; the words that I siDeak unto you are 
spirit and life. ' ' — Ver . 63. 

The natural crucifixion of Christ was no doubt a 
figure or pictorial illustration of a deeper death, as 
the wooden cross which he carried was a figure of 
his daily cross of self-denial, which he said others 
must bear in order to be his disciples. (Luke ix. 23.) 
If Christ did not bear a daily cross, others would not 
be following him in doing as here required. Paul 



42 THE GREAT REVELATION. 

says : " In that he died, he died unto sin, ' ' (Rom. vi. 
10), the sinful nature which he had assumed. (Rom. 
viii. 3; 2. Cor. v. 21.) And his followers are those 
crucified with him. (Rom. vi. 6.) These, with many- 
other like passages, show the deeper sacrifice and 
death of Christ. The death of the lower nature is 
by the shedding of blood, and the sustenance of the 
higher nature is by the drinking of blood; but the 
two kinds of blood or life are of opposite kinds. 

At the well of Samaria, Christ used the natural 
water in the well to illustrate the " water of life " 
which he imparts. As water to the thirsty, so is the 
truth as it is revealed in Christ to those who thirst 
after God. — Ps. xlii. 1, 2; cxix. 131. The woman of 
Samaria found it difficult to see the spiritual reality, 
but our Lord persevered until she had tasted the liv- 
ing water. The " well of water," in John iv, should 
help many to see that ' ' the river of the water of 
life," in the Apocalypse, is not literal. The water 
in the well and in the river is the same in kind. 

The pictorial method of teaching is good on ac- 
count of its brevity, and therefore the prophetic his- 
tory of nations is thus given. The " image " and the 
' ' beasts," of Daniel ii. and vii. are examples. The 
history of the four successive earthly kingdoms — 
Babylon, Medo-Persia, Grecia, and Rome — could not 
have been more concisely given. And the success 
of God's kingdom, which conquers and supersedes 
these earthly kingdoms, could not be more simply 
and forcibly shown than by the work of the " stone " 
and the "fire. " All these are symbols. As well to 
think the stone literal as the fire. As it would be 
absurd to think of breaking this symbolic man with 
a literal stone, so would it be to think of burning 
symbolic beasts with literal fire. In Isaiah iv. 4, we 
read of a cleansing work that the Lord will do by 
" the spirit of burning; " and in xi. 4, we are told of 
"the rod of his mouth," and "the breath of his 



A BBIEF BE VIEW. 43 

lips," with which he will " smite the earth," and 
" slay the wicked. " This is very suggestive of "the 
sword of the Spirit, [which proceeds out of the 
mouth of the Rider on the white horse, Rev. xix. 15, 
21], which is the Word of God. "— Eph. vi. 17. It is 
a blessed kind of smiting and burning which results 
in destroying the oppressive systems and in turning 
the people to " a pure language, that they may all 
call on the name of the Lord, to serve him with one 
consent. ' ' — Zeph. iii. 8, 9. 

All these examples of the double use of words are 
in keeping with the principle on which Paul tells us 
the plan is based, namely: " First the natural, after- 
ward that which is spiritual. ' ' This is true of the 
two bodies, because it is true of the two Adams — the 
two Heads of the race on opposite planes, — and of 
the whole plan. But some may not be able to receive 
it. Some who ought to be able to take strong meat 
and also give it to others, still need milk only. (Heb. 
v. 12-14.) It is well for us all that degree of knowl- 
edge is not the test of being Christians; but if we 
have the Spirit of Christ, which is the Spirit of love 
and truth, we should be able to grow in grace and in 
the knowledge of the truth, and not stand still, as 
many seem to do. It may be necessary to stand still 
in order to build up strong organizations, so long as 
Christians are not able to fellowship one another on 
the basis of character, however much they may differ 
in opinion. But it is far more important that we 
should catch the spirit of God's plan and grow, than 
to build strong organizations or sects. 

A Brief Review. 

Perhaps no clearer illustration of the progression 
of God's plan can be given than by following the 
history of the Seed, given briefly in the preceding 
chapter. In Genesis iii. 15, we are shown that the 
seed of the woman shall crush the serpent's head. 



44 THE GREAT BEVELATION. 

This threatening against the enemy implies blessing 
to all who have been under the curse. Two thousand 
years after, in Abraham's time, the threatening was, 
so to speak, converted into the promise that the 
seed shall bless all the nations. In the Jewish age 
the typical or fleshly phase of the seed — the nation 
of Israel — was developed. In the gospel age the 
real or spiritual Seed — Christ and the elect Church, 
(Gal. iii. 16, 29) — has been developed. And the work 
of the Seed, in crushing the serpent and blessing the 
nations, follows, in the ages to come. 

The picture in Genesis iii. 15 therefore anticipates 
a saved world — a clean universe — when sin and death 
shall be no more. (Rev. xxi. 4.) But though mean- 
ing so much, it was but dimly understood in the ear- 
ly ages. Very few indeed were the men of faith. — 
Heb. xi. The masses were without light — having 
neither the law nor the gospel. Being thus without 
help from above, they could not rise. The inevitable 
tendency w T as downward. That they were expected 
to know and obey the gospel is neither reasonable 
nor Scriptural. The same may be truly said of the 
idea that they were in danger of hopeless death or 
endless punishment; and yet they were not lit for 
heaven. Ignorance does not save. The knowledge 
of the Lord is essential to holiness and eternal life. 
(John xvii. 3.) 

The dimness of gospel light characterized all the 
ages before Christ came. It was gradually increas- 
ing, but only a few had it. — Heb. xi. When the law 
came, it intensified the sin and condemnation of but 
the one nation to whom it came; for " By the law is 
the knowledge of sin. '-The other nations continued 
in about the same ignorant and corrupt "condition as 
before, only as they were more or less affected by 
contact with the one nation and by the influence of 
tradition:?' 1 Without " gospel help, mankind sinks. 
They need a divine Saviour. 






A B RIEF RE VIE W. 45 

The weakness and failure of mankind in all the 
ages past and present show the need of a "restitu- 
tion of all things." That it is promised proves that 
the inference of its necessity is correct. (Acts iii. 
21; Matt. xvii. 11.) That it is to be universal is not 
weakened, but confirmed, by an appeal to the proph- 
ets. " The Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of 
the world. " ' ' The Son of man came to seek and to 
save that which was lost. " " For this "cause Christ 
both died and rose again, that he might be Lord both 
of the dead and the living, ' ' and the apostle assures 
us that all shall confess Him Lord, to the glory of 
God the Father, and also that none can do this but 
by the Holy Spirit. (Rom. xiv. 9; Philip, ii. 9-11; 
1. Cor. xii. 3.) 

There is hope for the Sodomites, the Samaritans, 
and Israel, (Ezek. xvi. 44-63.) representing both the 
living and the dead. Who then can be excluded? 
The gospel of Christ is '-good tidings of great joy 
which shall be unto all people." — Luke ii. 10. The 
love and saving work of Christ cover the three 
worlds — all the past, present, and future of mankind. 
By the grace of God he tasted death for every man — 
gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due 
time.— Heb. ii. 9; 1. Tim. ii. 6. 

The fullness of the gospel gives solid foundation 
for a hope that maketh hot ashamed. It appeals to 
the heart and love of all who believe it; and all will 
believe in due time; for Christ is the true Light that 
will enlighten all, (John i. 9), and the Lord says he 
will not fail nor be discouraged, until he shall send 
forth judgment unto victory. — Matt. xii. 20. 

The Bible begins with the account of the natural 
creation and the entrance of sin and death, and ends 
with the new creation — a clean universe, having nei- 
ther sin nor even one grave in it. " No more death " 
does not merely mean no more dying, but also no 
more dead ones, for we are assured that death shall 



46 THE QBE A T BE VELA TION. 

be swallowed up in victory. (Isa. xxv. 6-8.) This 
is the victory of life. The poet caught something of 
the spirit of the plan of God when he said: 

" Life is ever lord of death, 
And love can never lose its own.'' 

The Word of God is a progressive science, having 
in itself the potency to overcome every difficulty, to 
satisfy every heart, and to crown every creature of 
God with glory. " The Lord is good to all, and his 
tender mercies are over all his works/' — Ps. cxlv. 9, 




THE GpAT REVELATION. 

CHAPTER IV. 
<p god's key op the bible. 

TYXHE PLAN OF THE AGES is the key to open 
^K and explain the Bible. Careful readers must 
<Q have had this suggested in the preceding chap- 
k> ters. It also gives a solution of the mysterious 
things of life. Whatever men may think of the ex- 
istence of evil, sin, misery, storms, wrecks, catastro 
phes, wars, famines, pestilences, etc., in the universe 
of a God of love, it is easier to reconcile such things 
with love, in view of the plan that leads up to the 
final salvation of all , and the glorification of all suf- 
ferers, than with any other view imaginable. That 
the sufferings are temporal, and the glory eternal,— 
and that the sufferings are used for the purpose of 
working out the glory, so that " all things work to- 
gether for good, " — is surely the best explanation that 
can be given of the mystery of evil. What we have 
seen of God's revealed purpose and plan gives us 
this solution. And it seems that the writer of the 
following familiar hymn must sometimes at least 
have caught the spirit of the plan: — 

"God moves in a mysterious way, 

His wonders to perform; 
He plants his footsteps in the sea, 

And rides upon the storm. 

" Deep in unfathomable mines 

Of never-failing skill, 
He treasures up his bright designs, 

And works his sovereign will. 

47 



48 THE GEE A T BE VELA TIOJST, 

" Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take; • 
- The clouds ye so much dread, 
Are big with mercy, -and will break 
In blessings on your head. 

" His purposes will ripen fast, 

Unfolding every hour; 
The bud may have a bitter taste. 

But sweet will be the flower. 

"Blind unbelief is sure to err, 

And scan his work in vain ; 
God is his own Interpreter, 

And he will make it plain."' 

Dark Passages Explainable. 

Not only in nature and human experience do dark 
things appear, but in the Bible itself , which teaches 
that God is love, there are some very dark and strange 
things, which to many appear entirely out of harmo- 
ny with love. They are inclined to reject the Bible 
as being of God because of this apparent inharmony. 
They might as well reject nature as being of God for 
the same reason; though they sometimes deify Nat- 
ure with all its horrors. But we believe that all the 
dark things of both nature and the Bible can be har- 
monized w r ith love and justice in the light of the Plan 
of the Ages, which leads up to the perfect day and 
universal reconciliation, — and in no other w r ay. The 
dark passages can be explained by putting each state- 
ment in its place. 

The Bible is a revelation of a Divine Science. Like 
any other book or science, in order to be understood 
it must be read and studied according to its own prin- 
ciples of interpretation. What would we think of a 
man talking about the stars and their relation to each 
other when he knew nothing of the science of Astron- 
omy? To such an one, the starry heavens must ap- 
pear- a conglomeration, even though he admits that 



LETTER AND SPIRIT. 49 

they are beautiful. To many of its avowed friends, 
the Bible appears like a compilation, or even a con- 
glomeration, of facts, commandments, promises, and 
threatenings, not at all susceptible of any orderly ar- 
rangement. They do not see that it contains a sci- 
ence or system of truth, which is progressive in its 
development, down through a succession of ages, 
and that therefore the truths of the Bible are not to 
be applied indiscriminately, but to the people and in 
the age for whom or which it was spoken. 

This systematic view* combined with the prophetic 
character of the Bible, is an evidence of its divine 
origin, overlooked by many, but which, when seen, 
cannot be gainsaid. The Bible is not merely a his- 
tory of the spiritual experiences of men in the past, 
as some of its "higher critics" would have us be- 
lieve. Much of it is prophecy, — the history of times 
and nations written in advance, — which proves it the 
work of the Omniscient One. Seeing this gives rea- 
son for faith which cannot be shaken. 

Though seeing that truth is to be applied in the 
age for which w r ritten, we do not deny that there are 
some truths applicable in all ages. All moral prin- 
ciples and spiritual truths are unchangeable, and 
never-ending. But there are types and shadows of 
spiritual things, and commands relating to them, 
which are dispensational, and, " perish with the us- 
ing," (Col. ii. 22); that is, having served their pur- 
pose, they pass away. Not seeing this clearly, has 
no doubt been the cause of much confusion and divis- 
ion among Christians, and of some sect-making. 

Letter and Spirit. 

That some truths and commands of God have a 

dispensational application is generally admitted. 

The letter of the commands given to Adam, Abel, 

Noah, Abraham, and others, in relation to the for- 

(4) 



50 THE GREAT REVELATION. 

bidden fruit, offering sacrifice, building the ark, leav- 
ing his country, etc., — all adapted to their special 
circumstances,— would be entirely out of place if ap- 
plied indiscriminately, or to the people in our day. 
That in the spirit these commands are ever applica- 
ble we do not deny. But as given, they expire by 
limitation, or if types, by fulfillment, that is, the 
coming of the antitypes. (The spirit of a type is its 
antitype.) This is why circumcision, the passover, 
the priesthood, the sacrifices, the sabbaths, and oth- 
er things of the Jewish age, are not in force in the 
gospel age. We have the spirit, or antitype, or real 
meaning, of all these things here, but in the letter, or 
form, or as ordinances, they were nailed to the cross. 
(Col. ii. 14-17.) They died with Christ in the flesh; 
hence to apply them in the letter on this side of the 
cross is to misapply them, and is out of harmony 
with Paul's exhortation to rightly divide the word of 
truth. — 2. Tim. ii. 15. (For remarks on the spiritual 
meaning of several of these requirements of the Jew- 
ish age, see the preceding chapter, page 88.) 

It appears to be a Bible principle that no command 
of any former dispensation is in force, in the letter, 
in any later dispensation, unless it is repeated. Cir- 
cumcision was first given as a command in the Patri- 
archal age, and was repeated in the Jewish age. But 
none of these above-named commands of the Jewish 
age were ever repeated as requirements binding up- 
on God's people after the descent of the Holy Spirit 
on the day of Pentecost. 

Some while admitting the truth of the above state- 
ment as to most of these commands, are led by tra- 
ditional teaching and habit of thought to make an 
exception of the seventh-day sabbath. But is there 
not as much reason for believing that the seventh- 
year sabbath is still in force as that the seventh day 
is still binding? They were both parts of the same 
sabbatic system. (See Lev. xxiii.) We honor the 



BIBLE HARMONY, 51 

convictions and the zeal, of those who still try to ob- 
serve the day; (they cannot keep it according to the 
law, Exodus xxxv. 2, 3); but we think the progres- 
sion of the plan of the ages is against them, and that 
we can only keep the sabbath in its spirit, or antitype, 
so far as we are enabled by the Spirit of Christ to 
cease from sin and to enter into the spiritual rest, 
which is not one day in seven, but continual. Seven 
is the type of fullness or completeness. 

A clear illustration of the importance Of rightly 
dividing the word according to the plan of the ages, 
is given in the fact that the Old Testament teaches 
that a man must be circumcised in order to share in 
God's covenant favor, while the New Testament 
teaches that if a man is circumcised he is fallen from 
favor. — Gal. v. 1-4. This is one of what some call 
the " contradictions " of the Bible. But all is clear 
if w r e apply each statement in its own age. 

The statement that Paul makes about the ordi- 
nances of the Old Testament having been nailed to 
the cross, cannot properly be applied to baptism and 
the Lord's supper, as these are both ordinances of 
the New Testament. It is as inappropriate to include 
these with the Jewish ordinances, as to bring those 
on this side of the cross. This principle should be 
carefully observed. 

Bible Harmony. 

• - - 

It will be seen in the light of the plan of the ages 
that in order to obtain a clear idea of the general 
teaching of the Bible, it should be studied as a 
whole, and not disconnectedly; and that the work of 
each age should be seen in its relation to the general 
plan. By using a text here and there, regardless of 
its place in the plan, almost anything can be proved. 
Every sect can defend its own peculiarity with per- 
haps a few texts. But texts do not prove an idea 
true unless their place in the plan be understood. 



B2 THE GREAT RE VELATIOK 

The Calvinist, who emphasizes God's sovereignty in 
election; the Arminian, who talks of free salvation, 
but emphasizes man's freedom of choice; and the 
Universalist, who emphasizes God's all-abounding 
and all-conquering love and saving power; may each 
readily find some Scriptures to support his view, 
without regard to harmony; and the Infidel says 
they contradict each other. But with the plan of the 
ages as a key, all these Scriptures can be used har- 
moniously. 

There are certainly Scriptures that teach the doc- 
trine of election and limited opportunity. Here are 
a few samples: " The election hath obtained it, and 
the rest were blinded. " — Rom. xi. 5-8. " I will have 
mercy on whom I will * *. So then it is not of 
him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of 
God that sheweth mercy." — Rom. ix. 15, 16. "No 
man can come to me, except the Father draw him," 
and l ' All that the Father giveth me shall come to 
me." — John vi. 37, 44. "Knowing, brethren be- 
loved, your election of God. For our gospel came 
not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in 
the Holy Spirit, and in much assurance." — 1. Thess. 
i. 4, 5. 

In harmony with this, Jesus, before "he tasted 
death for every man," gave his disciples a limited 
commission: " Go not in the way of the Gentiles, 
and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: but 
go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." — 
Matt. x. 5, 6. Was it not because of God's sovereign 
choice that he was then sent only to Israel? — Matt, 
xv. 24. On the same principle the twelve, instead of 
others, were chosen to be apostles. Jesus said to 
them: " Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen 
you." — John xv. 16. So, later, Paul was chosen and 
arrested, when he had no thought of choosing Jesus 
whom he was persecuting. 

While on earth, our Lord spoke to the multitudes 



BIBLE HARMONY. 53 

in dark sayings and parables, and explained them to 
his disciples, giving this reason: "Unto you it is 
given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, 
but to them that are without all these things are done 
in parables, lest they should see, hear, understand, 
be converted, and their sins should be forgiven 
them. "—Mark iv. 11, 12. 

Was not this a limited opportunity to these multi- 
tudes? In view of such a statement, it is useless to 
say that the Lord wanted them all to be converted 
then. The Father was not drawing them, whatever 
his reason, and they could not come. (John vi. 44.) 
The Calvinist is right in saying that this is a clear 
case of God's sovereignty in election; but he is mis- 
taken when he infers that all the non-elect were con- 
signed to hopeless ruin and endless woe. Election is 
Scriptural, but the Calvinist idea of the fate of the 
non-elect is simply his own inference, because he has 
not seen God's purpose and plan of the ages. 

The idea that these blinded multitudes were 
doomed either to hopeless death or endless torment 
because they did not accept Christ and were not con- 
verted is simply horrible. To think that God loved 
the world, and sent his Son to commend his love, in 
that, while we were yet sinners, he died for us, tast- 
ing death for every man, and was the Lamb of God 
to take away the sin of the world, and was the Sav- 
iour of the world; — and yet that he deliberately 
chose a few, and left the multitude to hopeless ruin ! 
It cannot be. Oh! that all who believe in election, 
and are troubled with a narrow view of God's plan, 
could see that Christ died and rose again to redeem 
the world from death, — to be Lord both of the dead 
and the living, (Rom. xiv. 9),— and that the purpose 
of God in election is to develop a royal priesthood, 
through whom all the families of the earth — the non- 
elect — shall be blessed. When this truth, declared 



54 THE GEE A T BE VELA TION. 

in God's covenant, is seen, the doctrine of election, 
otherwise hideous, becomes glorious. 

Not seeing this purpose of God in the ages, elec- 
tion must always look dark and terrible. No wonder 
the Arminian, or the advocate of free will and free 
grace, does not like it. He seldom quotes those 
Scriptures in w T hich the Calvinist delights. He will 
omit the first part of John vi. 37: " All that the Fa- 
ther giveth me shall come to me," and quote the 
second part: " Him that cometh unto me I will in no 
wise cast out," and almost wishes the election doc- 
trine were not in the Bible. He emphasizes the 
many invitations of the gospel, and glories in the 
" Whosoever will" doctrine. And he has so far 
gained a march on his Calvinistic brethren, that they 
use the same Scriptures freely, and have almost for- 
gotten that election is in their creeds and in the Bi- 
ble too. They all preach and pray about alike. They 
all preach like Arminians, and pray like Calvinists. 
And they are both in much the same difficulty as to 
the narrowness of God's plan and the destiny of the 
masses of mankind. They crowd too much into this 
age, commonly called the gospel dispensation — being 
confident that men must be saved now or never. But 
the future, the millennial age, will be more of a gos- 
pel age than this has been. This is but the time of 
the election of ' ' the firstf ruits unto God and the 
Lamb," — of the royal priesthood, who are to reign 
with Christ and bless the nations. 

As it is out of character to apply the things of the 
Jewish age in this age, and vice versa, the same must 
be true as to the things of this age and the next. It 
is by crowding the things of the future into the pres- 
ent that much confusion is caused. For illustration 
look at the famous ' ' Whosoever will " passage, of 
Revelation xxii. 17. It is not like the election of this 
age, and it is fair to question its common application. 
It evidently belongs after the marriage of the Lamb 



BIBLE HARMONY. 55 

when the Church becomes the bride. In the gospel 
age she is not called a bride, but a chaste virgin es- 
poused to Christ, (2. Cor. xi. 2), waiting for the com- 
ing of the Bridegroom and the marriage.— Matt. xxv. 
1-10. Then she will be " the bride, the Lamb's wife. " 
Before the marriage the Spirit invites, to obtain a 
bride for Christ, foreshadowed by Eliezer, Abra- 
ham's servant, inviting Rebekah to become Isaac's 
wife, (Gen. 2Qriv.) ; but after the marriage, "the 
Spirit and the bride [will] say, Come," and, like Re- 
bekah, she will become (spiritually) "the mother of 
thousands of millions." This, said of Rebekah, is 
clearly a f oregleam of the future regenerating work 
of the Lamb's wife. 

If it is kept in mind that the election and prepara- 
tion of the Church precede the marriage, and that 
the work of the Church in blessing all the nations 
is after the marriage, then all appears harmonious. 
But to apply the Spirit and the bride saying, Come, 
before there is a bride, is not rightly dividing the 
word; and this one thing prevents thousands from 
seeing the fullness of the plan of salvation. The lim- 
ited applications of the gospel precede the Lord's 
coming and the marriage, and the free grace idea 
will find abundant room afterward. And all the ages 
to come are required to fulfill the many promises of 
universal blessing, and the development of a sinless 
race, and the continual existence of a pure world nev- 
er to be stained by sin, sickness, or death. 

God chose Christ to be the Saviour of the world. 
He chose the twelve as his cabinet. He chose Paul 
to preach the gospel, and to be for salvation to the 
ends of the earth. The whole Church of the gospel 
age — whether called the body, the temple, the seed, 
or the bride — are chosen in Christ, and for the same 
purpose — to save the world. The principle is, a few 
are chosen to bless all the others. 

Who cannot see that the plan of the ages is the 



56 THE GEE A T RE VELA TION. 

key to the application of these various Scriptures? 
With this view, even the doctrine of election is glo- 
rious. It is very different from the horrible Idea that 
a God of love, " whose tender mercies are over all 
his works," had from all eternity fixed the doom of 
the multitude of his creatures to endless woe, or 
hopeless death. How good it is to be able to see that 
God has not been engaged in a haphazard struggle 
with an enemy, who carries away the majority, but 
has been moving on from age to age, with a slow 
but certain step, toward the fulfillment of his pur- 
pose — a glorious and universal victory. Truly he is 
wise, and just, and kind. 




THE GREAT REVELATION. 




CHAPTER V. 

GOSPEL IN TYPE. * 

HE LORD has been pleased to reveal his purpose 
and plan in allegory, in type, and in prophecy, 
before revealing 1 it in fact in the person and 
work of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us care- 
fully distinguish between allegory and type. Moses 
wrote of Christ (John v. 46) in both these ways, and 
we would here note the difference between them. 
Much of his writings was in life -pictures of the gos- 
pel plan; — that is, the literal or natural facts in the 
lives of the primitive men and women were used to 
foreshadow the spiritual facts in the life and work 
of Christ in executing God's plan of the ages. These 
life-pictures are allegories. Paul refers to Moses' 
account of Abraham's two wives, Sarah and Hagar, 
and their sons, Isaac and Ishmael, and says they are 
an allegory of the two covenants and their fruit. — 
Gal. iv. 21-31. 

In the allegories we do not find an exact shadow of 
the plan, but a picture of its main features. But in 
the law, Moses gave a more definite "shadow " of 
the things of which Christ and his work are the 
"body," or substance. (Col. ii. 16,17; Heb. x. 1.) As 
the word ' ' type ' ' is here used, it refers to this more 
exact teaching of the law. Of this, in Matthew v. 18, 
Jesus said that every " jot and tittle," (the smallest 
parts), must be fulfilled, showing that all have a 



* This chapter is closely related to the one on " Atonement," in Moses and 
Christ. It refers to features of the subject there omitted, and even though some 
things are repeated (in substance), it is thought well to give it place here, as it may 
be circulated separately. 

57 



58 THE QBEAT EEVELATION. 

meaning. And the typical law is not fulfilled by ob- 
serving it, but by the coming of its antitypes, or that 
to which it points. 

Keeping the passover did not fulfill it; Christ, its 
Antitype, alone could do this. Keeping the sabbaths 
did not fulfill them; this can be done only by Christ 
bringing in the antitypical rest which they foreshad- 
owed. So executing the atonement parts of the law, 
as to its places, priests, and sacrifices, did not fulfill 
the law; they can only be fulfilled in the great rec- 
onciling work of Christ in himself, and in the execu- 
tion of the plan of the ages. Man has sometimes 
made strange work in trying to fulfill both the law 
and the prophecies; but Christ alone can fulfill either 
one, though he may use man as an instrument — usu- 
ally an unconscious instrument — in their fulfillment. 

What is here meant by the " Gospel in Type," is 
the foreshadowing of the great at-one-ment or rec- 
onciling work of the ages, in " the day of at-one- 
ment," which was a part of the Law. All the work 
of the typical at-one-ment was done on the tenth day 
of the seventh month of the Jewish year, (Lev. xxiii. 
27), and was repeated every year, and was for the 
whole year, both before and after it was done. It ap- 
pears from this that the year represented the whole 
plan of of the ages, and that the at-one-ment work 
in Christ is efficacious both before and after it is done. 
If men in the ages past could look forward to an at- 
one-ment to be made, why should not men in the 
ages to come look back to an at-one-ment that has 
been made? 

The Tabernacle. 

Let us imagine that we are looking at an inclosure 
one hundred cubits long and fifty cubits wide, due 
east and west, formed by hangings of fine twined 
linen, five cubits high. This is " the court of the 
tabernacle." — Exod. xxvii. 9-18. It is an inclosure, 



THE TABEBNACLE. 59 

but it has no covering. Within this court, Moses 
was instructed to have Israel build the Lord a sanct- 
uary in which he might dwell. — Exod. xxv. 1-9. This 
sanctuary within the court was called ' * the taber- 
nacle. " — Exod. xxvi. 1; Heb. ix. 2. It was not only 
an inclosure, like the court, but it was also covered 
with "rams' skins dyed red, and a covering above 
of badgers' skins." — Exod. xxvi. 14. This would not 
only make all within the tabernacle invisible from 
without, but it would exclude all external light. 
This covered inclosure was divided by a vail into two 
apartments, called " the holy and the most holy."— 
Ver. 33. 

The word " place," when used in connection with 
either of the two invisible apartments, is printed in 
italics, to show that it is not in the Hebrew. Only 
the court of the tabernacle, the place of the altar of 
death and of burnt offerings, was called "the holy 
place." — Lev. xiv. 13. This may have more signifi- 
cance than at first appears. 

This tabernacle (and all connected with it) was 
made according to a pattern shown to Moses in the 
mount. — Exod. xxv. 9, 40; Heb. viii. 5. The Hebrew 
is that Moses "was caused to see." — See margin 
verse 40. It is probably significant of the inspired 
seeing power of Moses, that he was called " up into 
the mount. " — Exod. xxiv. 12-18. Only from the ex- 
alted mental stand-point, typified by a high mount, 
could Moses have seen such a pattern. It vras a 
shadow or pattern of heavenly things. — Heb. viii. 5; 
ix. 23. This does not mean that Moses was permit- 
ted to see and copy a similar material thing which 
the Lord keeps up in heaven, as a locality; but it 
represents the spiritual or heavenly things which 
were yet to come, of which the material things made 
were the type or earthly shadow. 

The three apartments — the court, (or holy place), 
the holy, and the most holy — evidently represent, or 



60 THE GREAT REVELATION. 

correspond to, the three steps in the process of re- 
generation, or the way of man's approach to God. 
Certainly that earthly arrangement was the way from 
the camp of Israel [type of the natural or unregen- 
erate state of man] to God's typical presence. Hence 
it must foreshadow the way from the real unregen- 
erate state to the real presence of God. The earthly 
" holy places," " figures of the true," needed to be 
cleansed with the literal blood of beasts, "but the 
heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices 
than these. " — Heb. ix. 23, 24. Only the shedding of 
the blood [of man's enmity or body of sin], of which 
the blood of beasts was the shadow, could really 
cleanse the mind of man, or take away sin. Sin is 
the real victim to be destroyed. 

Whoever can see that Moses was enabled to ma>ke 
a pattern of God's plan of regeneration, or his way of 
bringing man to himself in and through Jesus Christ, 
and that as the earthly places were the field of the 
priest's operations in the typical atonement, so they 
represented the mental, spiritual, or heavenly field 
of Christ's operation in making the real atonement, 
can never doubt that Moses was an inspired writer. 

The Furniture. 

The furniture of the three places, — court, holy, 
and most holy, — and the use of the same, confirm the 
idea that they represent the way to God. The court 
contained the altar of sacrifice, and of burnt offering, 
and the laver for washing. This clearly represents 
the first step in the Christian life. Its primary state- 
ment is: " Believe — [accept the cross of Christ] — and 
be baptized. ' ' Looking deeper, we see that what 
was done in Christ's death for us, is to be wrought in 
lis, and hence killing the beast at the altar represents 
the crucifixion of the flesh, or the destruction of the 
enmity. This means the same as being reconciled to 
God — the first step in becoming a Christian. We 



THE FUBmTUBE. 61 



were reconciled to God legally in Christ's death, 
(Rom. v. 10), because when he died we died (2. Cor. 
v. 14, R. V.); but personally and practically we were 
not reconciled until we believed and accepted the 
truth, and began to catch and carry out its spirit. 
From that time we began to reckon ourselves also 
crucified, dead indeed unto sin, and alive unto God, 
(Rom. vi. 6-10), and therefore no longer enemies. 

Having thus come to the altar, how natural the 
next step,- — coming to the laver . The desire of God's 
friends is to please him. " If ye love me, keep my 
commandments. ' ' — John xiv. 15. When man volunta- 
aily dies to sin, it shows that the Spirit of Christ has 
taken possession, and it prompts to cleanse himself 
from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, and to per- 
fect holiness in the fear (reverence) of God. — 2. Cor. 
vii. 1. To carry oat what is implied in the sacrifice 
is the constant exhortation of the apostles; and what 
could so fitly represent that cleansing or washing as 
the use of water? It is evident that whoever does 
not want to be clean has not accepted Christ, and 
therefore has not taken the first step toward God. 
He is yet in the flesh and dead in sin — a state of en- 
mity. — Rom. viii. 5-9. But he who has accepted 
Christ, and therefore has the spirit of holiness, — a 
desire to be washed and made like Christ, — has sure- 
ly taken that step toward God which is represented 
by the first apartment of the typical arrangement, 
and the proper use of the altar and laver. This con- 
stitutes the first degree of the Christian life — the first 
of the three heavens of God's word. 

As the court, or the first holy place, corresponds 
to the primary and most external state of the Chris- 
tian life, the holy and most holy clearly represent 
the inner or hidden spiritual life and experience. 
Though, while in this earthly house (2. Cor. v. 1), 
the Christian is bodily in the court, or visible state, 
yet by faith and in spiritual experience it is his priv- 



62 THE GEE A T BE VELA TIOK 

lege to enter the holies. It is clearly of this privi- 
lege and the experience connected therewith, as rep- 
resented by the earthly tabernacle, that the apostle 
speaks in Hebrews x. 19-22: "Having therefore, 
brethren, boldness [liberty] to enter into the holies 
[plural, see Diagiott and Rotherham] by the blood of 
Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath con- 
secrated for us, through the vail, that is to say, his 
ilesh; and having an High Priest over the house of 
God, let us draw near with a true heart, in full assur- 
ance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an 
evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure 
water." 

The reference is evidently to the washing at the 
laver, prej)aratory to passing through the first vail, 
the way into the holies, — the way from the holy to 
the " holiest of all," being through the second vail. — 
Heb. ix. 3. 

Each Christian lives a double life :— bodily he is yet 
in the visible, the place or condition of sacrifice (cru- 
cifixion) and washing; but in mind or spirit he is in 
the unseen, the life hidden with Christ in God. (CoL 
iii. 3.) Paul, in speaking of this, says: Reckon your- 
selves on the living side. — Rom. vi. 11. He does not 
count men in the flesh, but in the Spirit, when the 
Spirit of Christ dwells in them. — Rom. viii. 9, 10. 
He speaks of the outward and inward, the seen and 
the unseen, in 2. Cor. iv. 16-18, and shows the value 
ox looking at the unseen — anomalous as that may ap- 
pear. With this in mind, it may be seen how Christ 
was in earth and heaven, the visible and invisible, at 
the same time. — John iii. 13. When the earthly 
house is dissolved, and the inner man puts on a spir- 
itual body, (1. Cor. xv. 44-50), according to the law 
of regeneration, or is clothed upon with the house 
from heaven, (2. Cor. v. 1-4), he will then be bodily 
in the holies, the invisible. Then the warfare will 
be past, and the double life ended. 



THE FUBNITUBE. 63 

Tke furniture of the holy, the first invisible apart- 
ment, agrees with the idea of its representing the 
second and hidden phase of the Christian life. It 
had three articles of furniture, — the table with the 
shewbread, the golden candlestick, and the golden 
altar. — Exod. xl. 22-27. Their use to the Christian 
is clearly suggested. There are the spiritual bread 
by which he lives, the spiritual light by which he 
walks, and the spiritual altar at which he 
worships. "The natural man receiveth not the 
things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness 
unto him: neither can he know them, because they 
are spiritually discerned,'' [seen]. — 1. Cor. ii. 14. 
From the outside they are invisible; but the spiritual 
man discerneth or seeth all these things. They 
clearly harmonize with the experience of the one on 
the way to God. Christ is with his Church there. — 
Rev. i. 13, 20. At two of them — the table and the 
candlestick, which bear to him God's revealed truth, 
he receives from the Lord; — food and light being two 
essentials of life. But at the third — the altar— which 
is nearest to the inner or second vail, he sends to the 
Lord the sacrifice of prayer and thanksgiving. — Heb. 
xiii. 15; Rev, viii. 8. When man has done what the 
Lord requires, and received what the Lord gives, his 
heart is likely to be imbued with the spirit of wor- 
ship, and at the hidden altar he realizes that there is 
but a thin vail between himself and him who sits be- 
tween the cherubim on the mercy-seat. — Ps. lxxx. 1. 

In the most holy, beyond the second vail (Heb. ix. 
3-5), was the ark of the covenant, covered by the 
mercy-seat and the cherubim. In the ark were the 
law, the pot of hidden manna, and Aaron's rod that 
budded, — these being, not the real, but shadows of 
the higher law, or motive of action, the most spirit- 
ual phase of truth, and the rod of life-giving power, 
of the kingdom of God. While the light of the holy 
was from the candlestick with its seven burners, — 



61 THE GREAT REVELATION. 

representing the fullness of revealed truth, —the 
light of the most holy, type of the third heaven, was 
from God's own typical presence. To the real, of 
which that was the type, even " heaven itself/ ' 
Christ went as our Forerunner, there to appear in 
the x>resence of God for us. — Heb. vi. 19, 20; ix. 24. 
This is the " third heaven," the " paradise," into 
which Paul was caught away, and where he heard 
and saw things too glorious to beexpressed. — 2. Cor. 
xii. 1-4. The candlestick and the bread of the sec- 
ond apartment represent the things revealed, but 
these in the third heaven are the hidden things of the 
Lord, which can only be obtained by sjjecial revela- 
tion, as in Paul's case. 

Though we can enter even the holiest by faith in 
our Forerunner, in whom all things $xe ours, yet the 
actual experience of these things is now withheld, as 
of things unrevealed, until we shall have overcome; 
but the bread, and light, and worship of the holy are 
ours while in the warfare. But ' ' he that overcome th 
shall inherit all things. " — Rev. xxi. 7. Even in this 
sense, there is nothing hidden that shall not be re- 
vealed. The hidden manna, the life-giving power, 
and the glory of God, are all objects of hope to the 
faithful. — Rev. ii. 17, 26; Rom. v. 2. It was doubt- 
less a glimpse of these that gave Paul encourage- 
ment, instead of the removal of the "thorn in the 
flesh. '' No wonder the Lord said: " My grace is 
sufrcient for thee." Oh, how much is involved in 
the hope of the glory of God! 

Who can fail to see that Moses was inspired to 
foreshadow the way to God? By this way, Jesus 

our Forerunner went to the Father, and therefore it 

is the only way for his followers. The body must 

follow the Head in regeneration, — the only way to 

come to God, — or the terms Forerunner and follower 

are meaningless. 



PftlEsT AND SACRIFICES. C5 

Priest and Sacrifices. 

Truth is many-sided. We have seen that the 
tabernacle, its furniture, and its use, foreshadowed 
the gospel plan of regeneration, or the way to God, 
and that these things were the basis of operation in 
the work of the priest in making at-one-ment. What- 
ever the use of the tabernacle during the rest of the 
year, the at-one-ment work w T as done in one day,— 
the tenth day of the seventh month; — and whatever 
was the work of the under priests, or of the high- 
priest on other days, it is evident that all the w 7 ork 
of the at-one-ment day was done by the high priest, 
(See Lev. xvi.) 

No doubt Aaron, the high priest, was a type of 
Christ, our great High Priest. And it is a point 
worthy to be observed that whatever part man, as an 
instrument, may have in the work of at-one-ment, it 
is Christ alone, either in himself or in others, that 
does the work. No Christian will claim the honor 
of saving himself . " For of hitn [the Lord], and 
through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be 
glory forever/ ' — Rom. xi. 36. 

Though every jot and tittle of the law has a mean- 
ing, and must be fulfilled, still the weakness of earth- 
ly things to fully foreshadow the things concerning 
Christ and his work, must be evident to the thought- 
ful. The apostle must have had this in mind when 
he said: il The law having a shadow of good things 
to come, and not the very image of the things." — 
Heb. x. 1. A shadow is never as distinct in its out- 
lines and features as the reality. Hence we cannot 
reason as well forward from the type to the antitype 
as back from the antitype to the type. 

In nothing is this weakness of the law more appar- 
ent than when it is necessary to represent Christ in 
his double nature — his divinity and humanity. And 
yet how could he be more clearly foreshadowed than 

(5) 



66 THE QBE A T BE VELA TION. 

by the priest and the beast together. Aaron killing 
the bullock was the type of Christ offering himself 
as a sacrifice. But it was not the death of the priest, 
but the death of the beast [the lower nature, in which 
the enmity inheres], that the law required. Christ's 
death as a Sin-offering did not therefore require his 
death as a Priest. His sacrificial death therefore 
did not consist in his leaving the glory of heaven 
and coming in the flesh, as some claim, but in the 
death of the flesh — the body prepared for sacrifice. — ■ 
Heb. x. 5. 

The Beasts and Order of Work. 

As the high priest represented Christ in his divin- 
ity, or God manifest in the flesh, it appears that all 
the beasts used in sacrifice must have represented 
humanity in its various phases, whether 'in himself 
or in others. There were two beasts used as sin of- 
ferings in the at-one-ment day — a bullock and a goat. 
Lev. xvi. 3, 9. Their blood was carried in and 
sprinkled on the mercy-seat, and their bodies w r ere 
burned without the camp.— Vs. 14, 15, 27. The oth- 
er goat escaped death as a sin offering, and yet was 
to make at-one-ment, being presented alive before 
the Lord, and then sent off as a scapegoat into the 
wilderness. — Ver. 10.* Besides these there were 
two rams used as burnt offerings, but for what pur- 
pose is not stated. — Vs. 3-5. Their blood was not 
carried to the mercy-seat, nor were their bodies car- 
ried without the camp. That offering on the altar 
in the holy place appears to represent the sweet 
savor of a holy life— our reasonable service. — Rom. 
xii. 1. 

It is generally accepted that the at-one-ment work 
of Christ and his sacrifice were foreshadowed by the 
work and sacrifice of the high priest in the tenth day 
of the seventh month; but it is commonly overlooked 

* For thoughts on the Scapegoat see Moses and Christ, page 181. 



THE BEASTS AND ORDEti OP WORK. CT 

that the antitype of that at-one-ment day must in- 
clude all the time, even the ages, used to reconcile 
the world to God, or until all enmity and sin shall be 
done away, and the endless reign of peace begun. 
That peace, or rest, or sabbath, will be the result of 
the completed at-one-ment, or the reconciliation of 
the whole world to God and one another. 

It is also quite commonly overlooked that the high 
priest in the typical atonement day made two distinct 
sin offerings — the bullock and the goat, above men- 
tioned, — the former as the leading sacrifice, and the 
latter following, in every particular, the leader's ex- 
ample. When Aaron, the high priest, (or his suc- 
cessor), was ready for the w r ork of the atonement 
day, clothed in the holy linen garments (Ver. 4), — - 
(not the garments " for glory and beauty," described 
in Exodus xxviii., which he wore on other days, but 
simply linen garments, which represent righteous- 
ness), — he first killed the bullock, which was for 
himself, to make atonement for himself and his house 
(Ver. 11), carried its shed blood — the evidence of its 
death, or of the completeness of the sacrifice — into 
the most holy place, and sprinkled it on the mercy- 
seat, between the cherubim, in the form of a cross. — 
Ver. 14. 

This type was evidently fulfilled in the personal 
experience of Jesus, from his baptism to his ascen- 
sion into heaven. At his baptism he said: " Thus it 
becometh us to fulfill all righteousness." — Matt. iii. 
15. Was not this a fulfillment of the high priest 
washing himself and putting on the holy linen gar- 
ments? — Lev. xvi. 4. His self -crucifixion appears 
to have been the antitype of the high priest killing 
the bullock; and his reproach in all his life outside 
the popular sects of Israel, and his final bodily cruci- 
fixion ' ' without the gate," were foreshadowed by 
the burning of the body of the beast ' ' without the 
camp." — Heb. xiii. 11, 12. The shed blood being the 



G3 THE QBE AT REVELATION. 

evidence of the completeness of the sacrifice, both in 
type and antitype, it appears that the presenting of 
the blood before the Lord, in the most holy place, 
must have foreshadowed the ascension of Jesus into 
the third heaven, the Father's condition, — the per- 
fected and glorified man, in a spiritual body, being 
the perfect evidence that the lower nature, the enmi- 
ty, the sin, which he had assumed, had been com- 
pletely destroyed. 

Though in an important, representative sense the 
atonement was complete in the personal work of 
Christ, the Head of every man, — for in that he died, 
all died, (2. Cor. v. 14, R. V.) — yet there is another 
important sense in which it was then just begun. 
What was done in him for others, must be applied to 
and carried out in them, in due time and order. In 
the order of application, the work of atonement 
comes through Christ to the Church, and through 
the Church to the world. As what was done in the 
Head of the Church must be repeated in his follow r - 
ers, in the type another sacrifice w r as made. The 
Lord's goat, selected for a sin offering, must be 
slain. It followed the bullock in every particular. 
But there was this difference: the bullock was to make 
atonement for the high priest and his house (type of 
the Church), but the goat was a sin offering for all 
the people (type of the world).— Lev. xvi. 11, 15. 
The propitiation for sin when complete includes both 
the Church and the world. (1. John ii. 2.) 

Mark the order! After sprinkling the bullock's 
blood in the holiest, the priest came out to the altar 
in the court to sacrifice the goat. And having shed 
its blood, he carried it within the vail and sprinkled 
it on the mercy-seat, as had been done with the blood 
of the bullock. — Lev. xvi. 15. The application seems 
natural. The relation of the goat to the bullock in 
sacrifice is exactly the relation of the Church to 
Christ. He leads, and they follow him. They are 



THE BEASTS AND OBDEB OF WOBK. 69 

crucified with him, buried with him in baptism, 
(Rom. vi. 3-6), have fellowship w T ith his sufferings, 
and are made conformable unto his death. (Philip. 
iii. 10.) They fill up what is behind in his afflictions 
(Col. i. 24), and even go to him without the camp, 
bearing his reproach. (Heb. xiii. 11-13.) And those 
who follow him in his sufferings shall follow him to 
glory and reign with him. (Rom. viii. 17; 2. Tim. ii. 
12.) The oneness of Christ and his saints (his body) 
can scarcely be over-estimated. Every promise the 
Father has made to him is also made to them. Just 
think of it! — " Heirs of God, joint-heirs with Jesus 
Christ! " With him exalted, they shall rule the na- 
tions and judge the world.— 1. Cor. vi. 2; Rev. ii. 26. 

There appears no room for doubt that the Lord's 
goat represented the true Church in their work of 
sacrifice. It is Christ in them, by his Spirit, that 
does the work, and the time of their sacrifice is dur- 
ing this age of election, trial, and overcoming; and 
when they follow their Forerunner into the Father's 
presence, that will be the fulfillment of the sprink- 
ling of the blood in the most holy place, the evidence 
of the completeness of the sacrifice, as in the case of 
their Leader. Some think that the saints will never 
follow Jesus to the heavenlies, but he said: " Whith- 
er I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt 
follow me afterward. " — John xiii. 36. 

This view of the sacrifice of the Church being cor- 
rect, it becomes evident that the return of the priest 
to slay the goat and to carry in the blood, found i1s 
fulfillment in the coming and work of the Holy Spirit. 
That coming was the result and evidence of the ac- 
ceptance of the personal work of Christ. He said he 
would send the Spirit in his name. Of that presence, 
he said: " Lo, / am with you always. " It is by this 
Spirit, (Christ in you, Rom. viii. 9, 10), that the 
saints are enabled to mortify the deeds of the body 
and to follow Christ. As it was the same priest that 



70 THE QBE A T BE VELA TION. 

killed both the bullock and the goat, so it is the same 
Spirit in Jesus and his followers that overcomes the 
flesh and brings them to victory. As God was in 
Christ, so Christ is in his followers, and, not of them- 
selves, but by this indwelling power, they work out 
their own salvation with fear and trembling, know- 
ing that it is God that w T orketh in them both to will 
and to do of his good pleasure. — Philip, ii. 12, 13. 

Too many, in looking at this subject of atonement, 
take no account of the number of beasts and the or- 
der of the work. To them the sin offering is merely 
Jesus dying on the Roman cross, w T hich, according 
to Hebrew r s xiii. 11, 12, w r as but the final disposition 
of the body /'without the gate." They have not 
seen the deeper meaning of the sacrifice and the 
daily cross. They have overlooked the fact that 
there were two distinct sacrifices in the type, and 
that therefore there must be two in the antitype. 
Some, seeing that there were two goats used, — one 
killed, and one that escaped, — have claimed that one 
represented Christ in his death, and the other in his 
resurrection; — but they leave the leading sacrifice 
out altogether. Though the slain goat was a sin of- 
fering, it was not the sin offering. It followed an ex- 
ample, and therefore did not typify the death of 
Christ. If any claim that it did, they should be able 
to show who or what was represented by the sacri- 
fice of the bullock. 

Many see and teach that the going in and coming 
out of the high priest typified the ascension and re- 
turn of Christ, but they overlook the fact that the 
high priest in making the two sacrifices went in and 
came out tw ice in the same day. And as no jot or 
tittle can fail, it is evident that no view of the atone- 
ment can be correct, which overlooks the two sacri- 
fices, or crowds the two comings into one. 

It is an important practical idea that while the sac- 
rifice made by any member of the Church is neces- 



THE BEASTS AND OBDEB OF WOBK. 71 

sary to his own spiritual development and exaltation, 
still the sacrifice is not so much for himself as for 
others. It is Christ for the Church, and the Church 
for the world. As baptism represents this sacrifice, 
we may see why it is said that Christians are " bap- 
tized for the dead. " — 1. Cor. xv. 29. The great prin- 
ciple of Christianity is self-denial for the good of 
others. We are not to think of our salvation as the 
end, but as the means for the salvation of the world. 
It is benevolence, not selfishness, that reveals the 
nature and purpose of God. 

This subject illustrates the important fact that the 
Lord saves the Church first, that ■ through them, 
joined to Christ as a royal priesthood, he may save 
the world afterward. 





THE G^EAT REVELATION. 

g$3 

CHAPTER VI. 

JUDGMENT AND PUNISHMENT. 

HAT is said in the Bible about judgment and 
punishment is by many regarded as against 
the hope of the complete victory of Christ as 
presented in these pages; but we are confi- 
dent that the difficulty will disappear when this sub- 
ject is considered in the light of the plan of the ages. 
Perhaps no subject is at once so important and so 
little understood as that of the judgment. It is 
commonly regarded with terror, where thought of at 
all, and even some Christians express hope that the 
coming of the Lord to judge the world will not occur 
in their day. In distinct contrast with this, we find 
in the Word that everything and everybody are 
called upon to rejoice and be glad because of his com- 
ing and judgment. — See Psalms xcvi. andxcviii. He 
is coming to set things right — to judge the world in 
righteousness and equity. Rightly understood, the 
judgment by Christ is one of the grandest gospel 
themes. It is the atonement applied to all for whom 
it was made in Him. 

There are three ways in which the mission of 
Christ is presented in the Bible. He is the Light of 
the world, the Judge of the world, and the Sav- 
iour (or Life-giver) of the world, (John viii. 12; 
Acts xvii. 31; 1. John iv. 14.), and these three parts 
of his work are inseparable. The light is the means 
of the judgment, and the judgment is the process of 
salvation. Whoever sees the true relation of these 
three things has the key of the largest hope. 
72 



JUDGMENT AND PUNISHMENT. 73 

The proof of these things is found by comparing 
Scripture with Scripture. In John i. 9 we are told 
that Christ is the true Light that lighteth every man 
that cometh into the world. In John i. 4 and xvii. 3 
we learn that the light and the life are inseparable — 
"The life was the light;" " This is life eternal, to 
know God, and Christ, whom he sent." Jesus said: 
' ' The word shall judge him, ' ' (John xii. 48) ; and 
Christ's judgment is not unto death, but unto life; 
for we are told that he will not fail, nor be discour- 
aged, until he shall send forth judgment unto victory. 
— Comp. Isa. xlii. 1-4 and Matt. xii. 20. " For God 
sent not his Son [the Word, the Light] into the world 
to condemn the world; but that the world through 
him might be saved. " — John iii. 17. 

There is, we admit, a phase of judgment which is 
unto condemnation. There are, indeed, two general 
judgments. One is by the law of Moses, and the 
other by Christ. The law condemns the sinner to 
death; "For the wages [penalty] of sin is death. " — 
Rom. vi. 23. That law knew no mercy, and could 
not save. But what the law could not do, God sent 
Jesus to do — that is, to condemn sin, and save the 
sinner. — Rom. viii. 3, 4. And though the wages of 
sin is death, " The gift of God is eternal life, through 
Jesus Christ our Lord. ' ' — Rom. vi. 23. In Romans 
v. 12, we learn that " By one man [Adam] sin entered 
into the world, and death by sin; and so death [the 
wages of sin] passed upon all men, for that [in him — 
Adam] all have sinned. ' ' — See margin. ' ' Therefore 
as by- the offence of one judgment came upon all men 
to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of 
one [Christ — the second Adam] the free gift came 
upon all men unto justification of life. ,? — Ver. 18. 

This plainly shows two general (universal) judg- 
ments, one to death by the sin of one man, and the 
other to life by the righteousness of the other Man. 
Out of one seed came forth in order the universal 



74 THE GREAT REVELATION. 

crop unto sin and death; and out of the other Seed 
comes forth in order the universal crop unto right- 
eousness and life. The law judges all men down, 
and Christ judges all men up. By the one man the 
many (all) were made sinners, and so by the other 
man the many (all) shall be made righteous. — 
Ver. 19. 

The difficulty with many arises from confounding 
the judgment by the law, (which invariably is unto 
death), with the judgment by Christ, which is unto 
victory — the victory of righteousness over sin, and 
of life over death. (Isa. xxv. 6-9.) These two judg- 
ments are related to each other as are the two cove- 
nants — of law and grace. " The law was given by 
Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. *■ — 
John i. 17. Both are laws in the sense of principles, 
and are contrasted as " the law of sin and death," 
and " the law of the Spirit of life." The one causes 
bondage, and the other makes free. — Rom. viii. 2. 
The one kills, and the other makes alive. — 1. Cor. 
xv. 22. These two laws have two distinct penalties. 
The penalty of Moses' law was " death without 
mercy, * ' and the penalty to those who sin after being 
brought under the new covenant, is a " sorer pun- 
ishment." — Heb. x. 28, 29. The " sorer punishment" 
cannot be death, as it can only be inflicted upon those 
who have been brought from under the law of death 
into the covenant of life. The punishment under the 
new covenant is chastisement, which shows its own 
design — not to kill, but to purify. To chasten is to 
punish, but it is also to make clean and white. The 
object of such dealing of God with his begotten and 
wayward sons is made plain in Hebrews xii. 5-11. 
And let it be emphasized that as soon as men are 
brought under the law of Christ, they are not pun- 
ished to kill, but that they might be partakers of 
his holiness. And we may be confident that when- 
ever death is the result of judgment, it is only the 



ALL JUDGED IN CHRIST. 75 

judgment by the law, and not by Christ. There is 
no death on the Christ side, except dying to sin, or 
the death of sin itself. All punishment on this side 
is designed to promote the growth in grace, or the 
development of Christlike character. 

Let this Scriptural distinction between i ' the wages 
of sin " under the old law and the chastisement of 
God's sons and daughters under the law of life, be 
clearly seen, and the way is open to see the certainty 
of salvation to all brought under the judgment by 
Christ. It is of this judgment we now specially 
write. 

All Judged in Christ. 

The work done in Christ Jesus is a great object- 
lesson — a personal illustration of the work to be done 
in the world of mankind. Let this idea be seen, the 
oneness of Christ with the world, and it will shed 
light upon his words, when speaking of his own per- 
sonal judgment: " Now is the judgment of this ivorld: 
now shall the prince of this world [Satan] be cast 
out. And I, if I be lifted up from [efc, out of] the 
earth [earthly condition], will draw all men unto 
me."— Johnxii. 31,32. 

Here, as in a nutshell, is the whole plan of salva- 
tion. It is the world's judgment and the world's sal- 
vation all wrought out in him. " A finished work " 
indeed, in a representative sense! It is the supreme 
object-lesson of the ages. It shows -God's loving 
purpose for mankind — a complete and perfect victory 
over sin and Satan, — and the means of its attainment 
— the judgment. The supreme object of the judg- 
ment is to cast out the elements of darkness and sin 
which inhere in man's nature, (Satan being the prince 
of darkness, the spirit that works in the children of 
disobedience, — Eph. ii. 2; vi. 11, 12), and supplant 
them with light and righteousness. To secure this 
end he took our nature upon him, — " God sending 



76 THE GEE A T BE VELA TION. 

his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, " " made 
sin for us," — met the enemy on his own ground and 
conquered, " condemned sin in the flesh," " that we 
might be made the righteousness of God in him." — 
Rom. viii. 3; 2. Cor. v. 21. 

Because of his complete success in his personal 
conflict with the enemy, and the consciousness of his 
ability to overcome in the whole race, which he rep- 
resented, after declaring the double result of his per- 
sonal judgment, — the casting out of Satan, and his 
high exaltation, — he immediately added: "I will 
draw all men unto me." What he did in himself for 
all, he will do in all, in due time and order. Because 
of his representative work done in the last of the 
seventieth week, Daniel spoke of it as making an end 
of sin, and bringing in everlasting righteousness. — 
Dan. ix. 24. And Paul speaks of the reconciliation 
of the world as being then accomplished — at the 
cross. — 2. Cor. v. 19; Eph. ii. 13-17. "He. preached 
peace " as already secured. The apostle speaks of 
Christ as having already " abolished death," (by his 
own resurrection), when he "brought life and im- 
mortality to light." — 2. Tim. i. 10. The great gos- 
pel principle is that what has been done in Christ 
the Head, shall be done in the race, as Christ died for 
all, and is " the head of every man."— 1. Cor. xi. 3; 
1. Tim. ii. 4-6; Heb. ii. 9. See also Eccle. i. 9. 

This principle of the judgment of all in one — the 
head, the seed — is illustrated in the fact that the 
whole race sinned and died in Adam; and afterward 
it is applied personally to all the race. As in Adam 
unto condemnation and death, so it is in Christ unto 
justification and life. — Rom. v. 18, 19. What affects 
the seed affects the whole crop. Adam was the seed 
— the unit of all — for natural generation and all it in- 
volves; and Christ is the Seed — the unit of all — for 
regeneration and all it involves. 



ORDER IN J UD GMENT. 77 

. Order in Judgment. 

As the judgment of the race was representatively 
accomplished in the person of Christ, and the result 
upon all declared, (John xii. 31, 32), it is to be prac- 
tically applied to all mankind in due time. 

The breadth of the design in applying this work, 
first wrought in Christ himself, is more than sug- 
gested by Paul's words: "It is a faithful saying, and 
worthy of all acceptation [the acceptance of all], that 
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners: of 
whom I am chief. " — 1. Tim. i. 15. If Christ could 
seek, find, and save such an one, (who was not seek- 
ing salvation, but bent on the persecution unto death 
of God's saints), he surely can save all sinners. But 
in the work of judgment unto victory, (as in the 
judgment unto death, and in all else), God works in 
an orderly way; and his order is: first, Christ — the 
Head; second, the Church — believers, the elect in 
Christ Jesus; and last, the world of mankind. 

Having briefly considered the judgment wrought 
in Christ, we would now consider its application to 
the Church and the world. And it is worthy of spe- 
cial attention that Christ, being victorious, has been 
ordained both Judge and Saviour. In the Old Tes- 
tament, Jehovah is called by both these titles, (Isa. 
xlv. 21-23), and in the New Testament we learn that 
He has appointed a day in which he will judge the 
world by the risen Man, (Acts xvii. 31), — that " the 
Father hath committed all judgment unto the Son, " 
(and mark the reason) "because he is the Son of 
man." — John v. 22, 26, 27. It is a blessed gospel 
truth that our Judge is also our merciful High 
Priest, who, on account of his human experience, 
can " be touched with the feeling of our infirmities." 

Heb. iv. 15. He is competent to judge, and there- 
fore to help and to save. — Heb. ii. 27. 
It is important to know that the judgment of the 



73 THE GUEAT REVELATION. 

Church is in the first gospel age, — the age of elec- 
tion,— and that the judgment of the world is, after 
the Lord's return. Peter said: "The time is come 
| not will come] when judgment must begin at the 
house of God," (1. Pet. iv. 17), — a New Testament 
name for the Church; but God has appointed a fut- 
ure day for the judgment of the world. — Acts xviL 
81. In harmony with this, the Bible never says 
Christ will come to judge the Church. He will judge 
the world, — the living and the dead (nations), — at 
his appearing and kingdom. — 2. Tim. iv. 1. The 
Church having accepted Christ and been forgiven, 
and then having followed him in that process of 
death to sin and rising to holiness which baptism 
symbolizes, do not need to be judged again. There 
are two stages of Christ's second advent, —first, when 
he comes for his saints, to receive them to himself, 
that they may be with him, (John xiv. 3; 1. Thess. 
iv. 13-lb), and, second, when he comes with all his 
saints, — Zech. xiv. 5; Jude 14, 15; Deut. xxxiii. 2. 
Paul speaks of it as a part of the hope of the Church, 
(previously judged and perfected with Christ), that 
when Christ shall appear (to judge the world) they 
also shall appear with him in glory, (Col. iii. 4), and 
that the saints shall judge the world.— 1. Cor. vi. 2, 
3. The saints must first be gathered together unto 
him (Ps. 1. 5; 2. Thess. ii. 1), or they could not come 
with him; but the nations are not to be judged until 
after he comes in his glory. — -Matt. xxv. 31. 

This appearing of Christ and the saints Paul calls 
" the manifestation of the sons of God," for which, 
in God's great purpose, the groaning creation waits, 
(while the Church only waits for the Son of God, — 1. 
Thess. i. 10), and he declares that, as a result of such 
manifestation of the sons, the whole creation shall be 
delivered from the bondage of corruption, into the 
glorious liberty of the children of God,— Rom. viiL 
19-21. 



OBJECT OF THE JUDGMENT. 79 

Object of the Judgment. 

The order of the judgment being understood, if its 
object can also be seen, the way is clear to see in it a 
revelation of God's purpose in reference to mankind. 
Has it not already been virtually proved that the 
judgment by Christ is a double work— first, to destroy 
ignorance, sin and death — the elements of man's lost 
condition; and second, to develop their opposites — 
thus bringing all men into a condition of knowledge 
of God, life, and righteousness. — John xvii. 2, 3. 
What man needs is to die to sin and live unto right- 
eousness. Christ's mission is to destroy the works 
of the devil, and save God's own work. Sin and 
death are the works of the devil, but man himself is 
God's work, and is therefore to be saved. 

Judgment is the way, and salvation is the end. 
The Lord will not save what is not worth saving; 
nor will he destroy anything that is worth saving. 
Man — God's child — is worth saving. No human be- 
ing is wholly bad. Man is the pearl for which Jesus 
gave all that he had. He is God's son — of which Is- 
rael was a type — brought from the antitypical Egypt 
- — the bondage of sin — to the antitypical Canaan — 
the perfect condition. The Lord will destroy all the 
low conditions of man, and the powers that hold him 
down, and then he will be free indeed. 

All Christians will admit that the object of Christ 
in dealing with the Church is thus two-fold— to judge 
down the sinful nature, and to develop the good. 
The entrance of the light is for the very purpose 
that they may learn to judge themselves — to discrim- 
inate between the evil and the good and choose the 
good. If we thus judge ourselves, we are chastened 
of the Lord, and shall not be judged with the world. 
1. Cor. xi. 31, 32. What people need to learn, in or- 
der to obtain a blessed consolation and hope, is that 
the object of Christ in judgment is the same, wheth- 



80 THE GREAT REVELATION. 

er for the Church or the world, whether now or after- 
ward. ' "He is the same, yesterday, today, and for- 
ever. " His love and the law of the Spirit of life be- 
ing ever the same, the principle and object of his 
judgment cannot change. He will be a priest in his 
throne. It is the loving Son of the God of love, the 
Light of the world, the Priest who is touched with 
the feeling of human infirmity, who is to judge the 
world. And it has already been shown that the judg- 
ment of the ivorld — not of the Church only — is a mat- 
ter of joy and gladness. — Ps. xcvi. and xcviii. The 
elect Church — with Christ as their Head — is the Seed 
of Abraham (GaL iii. 16, 29), through whom God has 
promised that all th6 nations of the earth shall be 
blessed. The process of judgment is the Lord's way 
of blessing— of full salvation. The reason that be- 
lievers—the elect Church — will not be judged with 
the world, is because they have already passed from 
death unto life.— John v. 24, R. V. 

Oh I that all could see the object of Christ's judg- 
ment — regeneration, righteousness, victory. What 
begins with the Church — God's elect — at the beget- 
ting of the Spirit, and ends at their birth into God's 
kingdom at the Lord's coming to receive them unto 
himself, begins with the world — the non-elect, the 
nations — afterward. The saints come forth to a 
completed state of life; but the rest come forth to a 
resurrection — the second birth — by means of the 
process of judgment yet to come. — John v. 29, R. V. 
They are not to be made r live in Christ to be judged; 
but raised by judgment. The judgment shall be un- 
to victory — the complete victory of life. 

Everlasting Punishment. 

The difference between the object of the penalty 
of sin under the law and that under the new cove- 
nant has already been considered — the former being' 
death, and the latter correction. But Matthew xxv. 



EVERLASTING PUNISHMENT. 81 

46, " These shall go away into everlasting punish- 
ment: but the righteous into life eternal," is often 
regarded as an objection to our view, and urged as 
positive proof of the doctrine of endless torment. All 
other passages used to sustain that view derive their 
coloring from this. 

It is claimed that the punishment of the wicked 
must be as long as the life of the righteous; — assum- 
ing that the sheep and the goats of this judgment 
scene include all mankind. Some who as teachers 
are supposed to be good authority (?) have taken the 
strong ground that if it can be proved that the punish- 
ment of the wicked will have an end, the same argu- 
ment will prove that the life of the righteous, and 
even of God himself, will also end. And all this 
simply because the same word, ' ' everlasting " or 
' ' eternal, ' ' is applied to the punishment of the wicked, 
the life of the righteous, and to God. This is too 
much to take for granted on such a premise. We 
may well rejoice that the existence of our Heavenly 
Father is in no w r ay dependent on proof, nor upon 
the definition of a word. 

Colored glasses give color to whatever men look 
at, and it is difficult for many to divest themselves of 
the influence of former teaching so far as to be will- 
ing to look at a thing from the standpoint of another. 
Some of us have done this, however. Though trained 
in the old school of thought, we have been enabled, 
by a careful examination of the Scriptures, to throw 
off the old idea and to accept the larger and better 
hope. And we are assured that the plan of the ages, 
with its progressive revelation, and the general scope 
and spirit of the gospel as a revelation of the infinite 
love and wisdom of God, are a far stronger evidence 
of the final victory of Christ in saving all men, than 
the mere definition of any word could be. 

But it is not unimportant to consider the words 



82 THE QBE AT REVELATION. 

' ' everlasting ' ' and l i eternal. ' ■ We have noth- 
ing to fear from the investigation, but are confident 
that the result will strengthen our position. 

Some have tried to make a point against the doc- 
trine of endless punishment, by claiming that the 
word " everlasting " is applied to limited duration, 
but that "eternal" refers to unlimited duration. 
This idea is based on the wording of the authorized 
version, but w r e have no sympathy with the idea. 
Nothing can be gained to the cause of truth by such 
reasoning or evasion of facts. The two words are 
precisely the same in signification. They are really 
the same word in the Greek, and should be translated 
by the same word in English. They are both ren- 
dered " eternal " in the revised version, which tends 
to confirm some in the idea that the punishment of 
the "goats " is to be endless. 

Let us briefly consider the words which are most 
commonly translated " eternal " and " everlasting." 
Let it be remembered that the Old Testament was 
translated from the Hebrew language, and the New 
Testament from the Greek. The Hebrew word is 
olam, and the Greek aion. There are a few other 
words occasionally used, but these two are the most 
common. The definition of olam, according to 
Young's Analytical Concordance, is "age, agelast- 
ing. " This word in the Old Testament is translated 
"ever," "forever," "everlasting," and "eternal." 
And the point of special interest is, that it is applied 
to things both limited and unlimited. The covenant, 
priesthood, inheritance, statutes and ordinances of the 
Jewish economy are said to be " forever " or " ever- 
lasting. " Most of these, it will be admitted, were 
limited to the Jewish age. They were age-lasting. 

Exodus xxi. 6 and Deuteronomy xv. 17 are two 
cases where it is applied to the life-time of a servant. 
That was " forever," that is, age-lasting. In these 
cases it was a man's age. In the other cases it was 



MVEELAST1KG PTjm^IIllEKT. 83 

the age or duration of the Jewish dispensation. It 
will be confessed that these were limited. And x.e 
freely admit that the same word oiten means k&liiu- 
ited duration. This is true whenever it is applied to 
the duration of God or his attributes. God's age is 
of necessity endless. And it is worthy of note that 
many, many times it is said that " His mercy endur- 
eth ior ever." — Ps. Ixxxix. 2. But, on the other 
hand, it is said, " He will not always chide; neither 
will he keep his anger forever." — Ps. ciii. 9. "I am 
merciful, saith the Lord, and I will not keep anger 
forever. "— Jer. iii. 12. 

The Greek noun aion, according to the same au- 
thor and others, is defined to be an * 'age, ' ' and memos, 
the adjective form of aion, is "age-lasting." This 
adjective is the w r ord translated "everlasting " and 
"eternal" in Matthew xxv. 46, and in most other 
places in the New Testament. In Philemon 15, 
aionios is translated "forever, " w T here Paul is writ- 
ing to Philemon of the life-service of Onesimus. The 
meaning of aion and olam is the same. It is an age, 
whether short or long, limited or unlimited. It may 
refer to the age or lifetime of an individual, to the 
duration of an era, or dispensation, or to the duration 
of God, Christ, and the saints. If it is applied to a 
mortal being's life, or to a dispensation, it is of ne- 
cessity limited. But if it is applied to an immortal 
being, it is of necessity unlimited. 

Prom what we can gather from the various sources 
of information w T ithin our reach, we conclude that 
the word, aion, or its adjective form, aionios, does 
not of itself indicate either the limited or unlimited 
duration of anything; but its duration in each case 
depends on the nature of that to which it is applied. 

It is just so with our corresponding English word, 
age. We use the same word whether speaking of 
the age or duration of a mosquito, a bee, a mouse, a 
dog, a horse, a man, a tree, or a mountain. The 



84 THE GEE AT REVELATION. 

word age does not determine the duration of any- 
thing; but the duration is determined by the nature 
of the thing. ; 

Then because the same word, " eternal," (which, 
if it be a proper translation, is a synonym of age- 
lasting), is applied to the punishment of the "goats," 
and to the duration of God, it is no reason whatever 
for saying that if the punishment comes to an end, 
God himself must cease to be. 

The "goats" represent a certain character or con- 
dition, which is mutual or subject to change, and the 
age or duration of punishment depends upon the du- 
ration of that mutable condition. But God is immu- 
table or unchangeable, and therefore immortal; so 
that while the age of God is of necessity endless, the 
age or duration of punishment is by the same neces- 
sity limited. 

If it be claimed that the "goats " are immortal sin- 
ners, and that therefore according to our own rule 
their aion of punishment must be endless, let it be 
understood that the burden of proof falls upon those 
who make that claim. It may be safely asserted thai 
the Bible in no instance associates the idea of immor- 
tality with that of sin. Sin and death are always re- 
lated. The same is true of righteousness and life. 
And the Bible never speaks of man being immortal 
until he puts on Christ by a resurrection from the 
dead. When men are in the judgment process, 
whether that judgment is before or after physical 
death, (or rather before death or after waking from 
the death sleep,) they cannot properly be said to 
have been made alive in Christ. The judgment is 
the means or process of making them alive in Christ. 
The judgment is unto victory, and when men are 
thus made alive in Christ, they will no longer be- 
long to the class or be in the condition represented 
by the " goats," and therefore their aion of punish- 
ment will be ended. But the aion of life and immor- 



EVERLASTING PUNISHMENT. 85 

tality, sustained by immutable righteousness, never 
ends. There can be no such thing as immortality in 
a state of sin. 

To those who see the truth that the law penalty 
was death, and that only when freed from it are peo- 
ple subject to the judgment by the Son of man, it 
should be clear that under him there can be no pun- 
ishment except in discipline, for the good of all con- 
cerned. 

Among the many ideas associated with punish- 
ment, we find, to restrain, to chasten, to instruct, to 
teach. The Greek word translated punishment in 
Matthew xxv. 46 is kolasis, and is defined to cut off, 
to restrain, to prune. The qualities for which the 
"goats' ' are punished are like useless and injurious 
appendages or branches in an orchard. They need 
to be pruned, cut off , and burned. That this is the 
true object of the " fire " is not far-fetched, but clear- 
ly Scriptural and in harmony with the character of 
our heavenly Father, as revealed in Christ. 

Isaiah iv. 4, shows that the object of the "spirit of 
judgment " and the "spirit of burning," is to purge 
away filth. This is the same idea as pruning. It is 
to cleanse, to purify. '' Our God is a consuming 
fire," — not to consume his own crowning work, man, 
but to consume all those conditions by which man is 
held down and back from his true destiny. 

The same thought is brought to view in Malachi 
iii. 1-3. The Lord comes, and no evil ones can 
stand when he appears. Why? Because he is like 
a refiner's fire, and like fuller's soap. And he sits as 
a refiner and purifier of silver, to purify and purge 
away the dross, that an offering in righteousness 
may be the result. 

That the Lord's object in punishment under the 
new covenant is correction, is clearly taught in He- 
brews xii. 5-11: " Whom the Lord lovethhe chasten- 
eth. " To chasten is both to punish and to purify. 



86 THE GEE A T BE VELA TION. 

Our earthly fathers chastened us for their own pleas- 
ure; but our heavenly Father chastens for our profit, 
that we may be partakers of his holiness . No chasten - 
ing seems good at the time, but, says the Apostle, 
' ' Nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable 
fruit of righteousness unto them that are exercised 
thereby. " 

The Apostle teaches the same grand truth when he 
affirms that he who builds with, or does the works 
that are represented by, wood, hay and stubble, shall 
suffer loss; that his w r orks shall be burned, but that 
he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire. — 1. Cor. 
iii. 11-15. And also in the other passage where he, 
in the name of the perfect Judge, delivers a great 
sinner (being now under Christ instead of the law) 
over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, (the 
carnal nature) that the spirit may be saved in the day 
of the Lord Jesus. — 1. Cor. v. 1-5. 

All these are in perfect harmony with the idea of 
punishment in God's fire for the purpose of pruning 
or purging away the dross of selfishness, on account 
of which certain ones are counted " goats." And 
certainly when that condition is burned away, the 
axon of punishment must cease. 

When one can see the plan of the ages sufficiently 
clear to locate the judgment scene of Matthew xxv. 
81-46 where it belongs, after the marriage of the 
Lamb, and therefore after the saints of the ages pre- 
ceding the second coming of Christ are with him in 
his glory and in his judgment throne, it is not difficult 
to see that the " sheep " of that parable are not the 
saints of the former ages. We have seen that the 
saints will judge the world, (1. Cor. vi. 2), and that 
when Christ shall appear (as he does in the lesson 
before us) they are to appear with him in glory.— 
Col. iii. 4. Their judgment is past w^hen they are 
thus highly exalted. This position in the throne is 
their great reward. And it follows that others be- 



EVEBLAST1NG PUNISHMENT. 87 

side the Church thus exalted are to be blessed, The 
"sheep" of the future judgment scene are "blessed," 
and rewarded with the life of the age, and the "goats" 
are in a " cursed ' ' condition, and are therefore sent 
away into the fire of the age to be purified. 

That aion (age) does not of itself mean endless du- 
ration, is evident, because it is of ten used in the plur- 
al (aiones, ages — see page 33), and there is a succes- 
sion of such ages. It should doubtless always be 
translated, age or ages. The dative plural (aiosi) is 
so rendered in Ephesians ii. 7, where the purpose of 
calling out and exalting the Church is stated: "That 
in the ages to come, he might shew the exceeding 
riches of his grace." In Hebrews ix. 26, the genitive 
plural (aionon) is translated ivorld: "But now once 
in the end of the ivorld hath he appeared to put away 
sin by the sacrifice of himself. " The Emphatic Dia- 
glott renders it ages. It evidently means the last end 
of the Jewish age and the first end of the Gospel age. 
The expression, "world to come," should read " age 
to come." "The harvest is the end of the world," 
would be much clearer if it were read, " The harvest 
is the end of the age. " In all such passages it is the 
Greek aion, or its plural, aiones the same word whose 
adjective, aionios, is translated "everlasting" or 
' ' eternal. ' ' No wonder some are confused by such 
translations. If it were age, or age-lasting, in every 
case, it would be easily understood. 

With the idea that aion means an endless period, 
the plural form would suggest the absurdity of one 
endless period following another endless period. 
So in such cases the translators give us either the 
word worlds or ages. If " forever, ' ' translated from 
aionios, means an endless period, "forever and ever" 
is an absurdity. But it is all plain when aion is un- 
derstood to be an age, and aionios to be age-lasting. 
Then the goats can be subject to punishment by the 
fire of the age, and yet be purified and blessed. 



88 THE GEE AT BEVELATION. 

Judgment of the Dead. 

The judgment scene of Matthew xxv. 31-46 prob- 
ably does not include the dead, but only the nations 
alive on the earth when ' i the manifestation of the 
sons of God " occurs, and will no doubt be fulfilled 
in ordinary life as naturally as the judgment of the 
Church has been. Indeed, it appears evident that 
the principle of that judgment — doing or not doing 
to the needy — is now rapidly coming to the front, 
and that it has never been made so prominent in the 
judgment or development of the Church. The cir- 
cumstances and the calling of the Church are dif- 
ferent. 

But we may be sure that Christ's law of judgment 
will also be applied to those who have died. (2. Tim. 
iv. 1.) " After death the judgment " is not against 
the hopeful view of the plan, when we know who are 
to be the judges,— Christ and the saints, — and that 
their object is victory. The Antediluvians were cut 
off by a terrible judgment, (not by Christ, but in close 
kinship with the judgment by the law), and yet 
Peter gives us the key of hope for them when he 
tells us that after Christ had been put to death in the 
flesh, and made alive by the Spirit,— thus gaining the 
victory, and the keys of hades (Rev. i. 18), — he went 
and preached to them, — "the spirits in prison," 
those who were disobedient in the days of Noah. — 
Comp. 1. Pet. iii. 18, 19 and iv. 5, 6. In the latter 
passage they are called "the dead." Some have 
tried to explain this passage; but it is too plain to 
need explaining. Noah preached righteousness, but 
he did not preach the gospel; and even if he did, it 
was to the living— men in the flesh, — and not to "the 
dead." Seeing God's plan to save the dead, as well 

as the living, we take the passage just as it reads, — 
seeing in it a foregleam of the work of the Church — 
the body of Christ — after they are raised and per- 



JUDGMENT OF THE DEAD. 89 

fected. Observe the order: (1) Put to death; (2) 
quickened — made alive; (3) preached. It was not 
while he was dead that he preached, as some say, 
but after he had gained the victory over death. Dur- 
ing the succeeding " forty days," he was most of 
the time invisible to men in the flesh, and Peter here 
tells us what he was doing. He preached the gos- 
pel to the dead, — those not in the flesh, — and the 
apostle tells us for what purpose. It was not as 
some vainly affirm, to show them what they had lost, 
nor to aggravate their woe. "For this cause was 
the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that 
they might be judged according to [on the same 
principle as] men in the flesh, but live according to 
God in the spirit." 

This is very comprehensive and hopeful. It illus- 
trates the three offices of Christ —the Light, the 
Judge, the Saviour. He gave them the gospel that 
they might be judged unto victory. The " also " of 
1. Peter iv. 6 shows that the gospel of Christ is for 
both the living and the dead, and for the same pur- 
pose — judgment and salvation. "After death the 
judgment " is not the hopeless thing it is commonly 
considered. It is an evidence of the spirit of loving 
favor in the judgment by the Son of man, that those 
Antediluvians — the first to fall under a special curse, 
and commonly regarded as hopelessly lost — were the 
first to have a glimpse of his victory, and the world's 
hope, after he had obtained the keys of death and 
hades. 

Some deny the possibility of those who had died 
hearing the gospel, because of their view of man's 
nature, and the death sleep, and because they think 
the resurrection must take place fre/ore the judgment. 
But their view of the nature of man and the order 
of God's plan evidently needs modifying. Some may 
object to our idea of man's nature on the ground that 
it is "Orthodoxy;" but they should see that it is no 



90 THE GEE A T BE VELA TION. 

such thing. Neither is it the opposite extreme. It 
is neither " immortal soulism," nor "no soulism. " 
There must be something besides the body that 
sleeps, and hears, and wakes, because the body is 
absolutely dead, and cannot be awakened by hearing. 
Whatever sleeps must be awakened before judgment, 
but immortality, so far as man is concerned, is spok- 
en of in the Bible only as the final and perfect state — 
the spiritual body condition — attained by the appli- 
cation of the law of Christ, the law of the Spirit of 
life, in the judgment. Immortality is the victory, 
and the judgment is the process which brings it. 

The spirit of man is the son of God. — Heb. xii. 9. 
It is the spirit of man with which God's Spirit bears 
witness. — Rom. viii. 16. Though the body is dead 
because of sin, the spirit is life because of righteous- 
ness. — Ver. 10. The spirit of man — not his fleshly 
body — is the subject of the regeneration — the second 
birth. — John iii. 6. The spirit is the subject of the 
judgment, — because it receives the testimony — the 
light, — and is therefore the thing to be finally and 
fully saved or perfected. — 1. Cor. v. 5 and Heb. xii. 
23. A perfected spirit will be righteous and have a 
spiritual body. ' ' It [the seed] is sown a natural body 
[in this imperfect state, but] it is raised a spiritual 
body." The old man [the soulical or animal nature] 
is to be judged down, but the new man, the inner 
man, saved out of the ruin, is to be judged up, de- 
veloped, glorified — perfected in the image of the Fa- 
ther, as revealed in Jesus Christ. All this is illus- 
trated in the case of ' ' the spirits in prison. ' ' 

The Sodomites, too, are a dead nation, of whom 
not even a " remnant" or " seed — was left. — Rom. 
ix. 29. Jude 7 tells us that they are set forth as an 
example, ' 'suffering the vengeance of eternal [aionion~\ 
fire;" and yet in Ezekiel xvi. 44-63, we are told that 
they and the Samaritans, as well as Israel, are to be 
blessed. They are to be given to Israel as daugh- 



DESTRUCTION AND SALVATION. 91 

ters by the everlasting covenant. And Jesus shows 
that it shall be "more tolerable " for the Sodomites 
than for Israel (or those who sinned against greater 
light) in the day of judgment; and yet "All Israel 
shall be saved " "in the Lord with an everlasting 
salvation," — Rom. xi, 26; Isa. xlv, 17. So there is 
hope for the non- elect as w T ell as for the elect — for 
the dead as well as for the living* Yes, they shall 
be ashamed, but Ezekiel xvi. also shows that the 
shame of Israel is after they are forgiven. — Ver. 63, 
R. V. The most hopeless condition of people is when 
they are not ashamed for their sins. 

Destruction and Salvation. 

Some deny that any will be judged after physical 
death. They quote, "The wages of sin is death," 
applying it wholly to the death of the body. Some 
of them think all will be saved in the future without 
the judgment process; and others think that when 
the impenitent sinner dies, that ends all with him. 
They have no hope for such ones. But is death con- 
summated when the body dies? Can man fully exe- 
cute the divine penalty? Jesus says man can kill 
the body, but cannot kill the soul. — Matt. x. 28. Then 
the soul and the body are not identical; and "The 
soul that sinneth, it shall die. " The soul should not 
be confounded with either the spirit or the body. 
We read of some giving the fruit of their body for 
the sin of their soul, (Micah vi, 7,) That is like the 
Hindoo mother seeking to appease the wrath of her 
god by casting her babe to the crocadile, There is 
a distinction between the body and the soul, or the 
statement of Jesus, that man can kill the body, but 
not the soul, would not be true. But though the soul 
outlives the body, it is not of itself immortal, for Je- 
sus said that God can destroy both. And it appears 
evident that the soul, the animal nature, must be de- 



92 THE GBEAT BEVELATION. 

stroyed in order to the full execution of the penalty 
of the divine law. 

That physical death is not the full penalty of the 
law, appears evident from the fact that Christians 
so die like other men, though having our Lord 'sown 
promise that they shall never perish. Having re- 
ceived the Lord Jesus, and having learned to love 
the brethren, they "have passed from death unto 
life, " — " everlasting life, ' ' — and know it. (John iii. 
36; v. 24; 1. John iii. 14.) They escape the legal 
penalty by the new covenant method of sacrifice, and 
the law is satisfied. But though many utterly perish 
in their own corruption, they cannot go beyond the 
reach of Christ, and by his life-giving power and his 
process of judgment, they shall be delivered from 
the bondage of corruption, into the glorious liberty 
of the children of God. (Rom. viii. 21.) 

Unquickened people are said to be "dead in tres- 
passes and sins," (Eph. ii. 1), but their bodies are 
not dead. While people are in that state of death, 
and still perishing, or on the downward road, they 
are called " the children of the wicked one; " and no 
provision has been made to save the children of the 
devil. Part of the mission of Christ is to " destroy 
the works of the devil." — 1. John iii. 8. Then man, 
in the sense in which he is a child of Satan, must be 
destroyed. There is no hope for the wicked, and, 
while in the unregenerate state, all are wicked. "All 
have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." 
Though God is the Father of our spirits, yet, while 
the spiritual nature is undeveloped, people are reck- 
oned on the lower side, " by nature the children of 
wrath, even as others." — Eph. ii. 3. But when the 
new life has begun; when the spiritual nature has 
been quickened by the light and heat (truth and love) 
of the Sun of Righteousness; the Lord, knowing the 
nature of the spirit of man, and seeing the end from 
the beginning of the new life, counts the man on the 



DESTRVCTION AND SALVATION. 93 

risen side, a child of God and an heir of his king- 
dom. His personality has been transferred from 
what must be destroyed to that which is enduring. 
Hence Paul says: " Ye are not in the flesh, but in 
the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in 
you." — Rom. viii. 9. 

This principle is the key to the understanding of 
several of what may be called divine paradoxes. 
Though living in the flesh, (Gal. ii. 20), we are not 
counted in the flesh, but crucified and dead. Though 
very weak and imperfect, we are strong in the Lord, 
and complete in him. — Col. ii. 10. Though poor as 
poor can be, we have all riches, and are making oth- 
ers rich. — Jas. ii. 5; 2. Cor. vi. 10. Though dead, we 
are alive, — our life being hid with Christ in God. — 
Col. iii. 1-3. On this gospel plan, God can indeed 
destroy his enemies, and yet save all as his friends, 
— his sons and daughters. 

Let it be emphasized, that when the final judg- 
ment (that is, by Christ, the Son of man) of any per- 
son begins, God has transferred him from the do- 
minion of the law of death into that of the law of life. 
While under the old law, he stood condemned; but 
he is justified when brought under Christ's law, to 
be judged unto a perfect victory. The Lord will 
judge his people, and bring them to perfection, eveh 
if by a severe discipline. The scourging and chasten- 
ing are that they may become partakers of his holi- 
ness. — Heb. xii. 5-10. He destroys all the elements 
of the children of disobedience, and brings man to 
liberty and glory. 

Though the judgment of the believers (the house 
of God,) begins in this life, it is not consummated 
until the time of the reward — the crown of perfect 
righteousness to be given, in the future great day, 
to all that love his appearing. — 2. Tim. iv. 8. Re- 
ward is the completion of judgment. 

In the opening of the books,— the unveiling of all 



94 THE GEE A T BE VELA TIOK 

motives, and the manifestation of all results, — there 
will be a great reversal of human decisions, be- 
cause men judged according to appearance. This is 
why the apostle exhorted the Church to withhold 
judgment: " Judge nothing before the time, till the 
Lord come." — 1. Cor. iv. 5. We do not know how to 
judge anybody, because we do not know all the facts 
circumstances, and influences bearing on the case. 
The tendency of human judgment is like that of the 
law, unto condemnation. We are liable in judging 
others, not only to condemn the sin, but also the sin- 
ner. But love never condemns the sinner. Christ 
is not the accuser. On whose side do we stand ? — 
that of the accuser, or of the Saviour? " Who is he 
that condemneth?" Not Christ, who came not to 
condemn, but to save. The blessed truth is that in 
the second judgment (the judgment by the Son of 
man) no one is judged down. The first judgment, 
which was by the broken law, condemned all to death. 
Christ found all in this condemned state, either dead 
or dying, and his mission is either to prevent the 
complete execution of the penalty of the law (as he 
does in all who look to him as the antitype of the 
brazen serpent, John iii. 14, 15) or to deliver them 
who through fear of death were all their lifetime 
subject to bondage, (Heb. ii. 15), which can only ap- 
ply to the world, who live and die without hope. 

It is to be observed that the apostle declares that 
when the Lord shall in his day " bring to light the 
hidden things of darkness, and make manifest the 
counsels of the hearts, then every man shall have 
praise of God." — 1. Cor. iv. 5. This statement can- 
not be harmonized with any plan of hopelessness, 
but only with the destruction of all sin, the reward 
of all good, and the ultimate triumph and perpetuity 
of love and right. 

That judgment and punishment, whether present 
or future, are necessarily associated, and therefore 



DESTBVCTION AND SALVATION. 95 

inseparable, seems clear. But we are assured that 
the Lord will not fail nor be discouraged until he 
shall send forth judgment unto victory. Jesus, as 
"the Head of the Church, " yes, even "the Head of 
every man," passed through his trial, or judgment, 
and it was unto victory. He was made perfect 
through his sufferings. (Heb. ii. 10, 18; v. 9.) We 
have seen that what was done in him for all, must 
be successfully applied to all in due time. (John xii. 
31, 32.) In applying the principle of judgment, the 
Church is dealt with during the gospel age, and 
brought to victory at the Lord's second coming. 
Then follows the judgment of the world, by Christ 
and the Church, and that, too, will be unto victory. 
Thus, alone, can our Lord's words be fulfilled: "I 
will draw all men unto me." What he said and did 
were ' ' The Great Revelation. ' ' His work was 
the object-lesson, his words the prophecy, and him- 
self the Security of the fulfillment of God's loving 
purpose to perfect and perpetuate the whole race. 

The lav/ of Christ's judgment is the law of devel- 
opment, and punishment as a means of discipline, is 
necessary and sure, until all inharmony is removed, 
all enmity and imperfection overcome, and God is 
all in all.— 1. Cor. xv. 20-28. 

In view of what we have seen, we need not be 
afraid to look at any of the dark sayings or difficul- 
ties. The limitations, elections, and chastisements 
are all essential parts of the plan of the world's sal- 
vation. The beauty of the Bible system of truth 
would be marred if any of these were missing. The 
revealed plan is vindicated by being in harmony with 
itself and with the wants of mankind in all the ages. 
And when the plan and purpose of God are appre- 
hended, there is clear proof of the fundamental state- 
ment that "God is Love." 



